United Times 3
by GenReader
Summary: Ben 10, Generator Rex, and Zak Saturday unite to save the world against their greatest enemies. Ben is having the time of his life traveling the universe with Gwen, Kevin and Rook when the fun is interrupted by an old foe. Rex travels to their universe looking for someone he lost and ready to finish old enemies. Zak is hiding a secret, and he can't contain it much longer.
1. Prologue

Rex.

"You're sure this will work?" Rex crossed his arms and looked over at his brother, bent over a work table with a small welders torch.

"98.6% sure," Caesars muffled voice responded from behind the welding mask. "If my calculations are correct, then modifying the dimensional disruptor to target-"

"You mean the 'null void gun'," Rex chimed, "thats what _alien kid_ called it."

"Not exactly. This _was_ the null void gun I used to get rid of the Alpha Nanite, but hopefully with the changes I've made, the portal it creates will open up directly into Ben's dimension."

"How does it work?" Asked Six.

"The null void dimension links this dimension to Ben's, so theoretically we can use that connection to travel to his universe. If I could just..."

"I don't know about this Rex," Doc, who had been looking over Caesars notes, spoke up. "I mean.. Dimensional travel? We don't even know if this will work."

"He's followed the pack into Ben's dimension before." Six said pushing his shades farther up his nose.

"I didn't like it that time either," Doc muttered.

"I'll be fine Doc. Besides, Caesar upgraded the communication system so you can talk my ear off the whole time I'm gone." Rex smiled and tapped his earpiece.

"The coms. upgrade is untested. So is the dimensional projector. And if Van Kleiss really is hiding in that dimension like we think he is, there's no telling what he's capable of after all these months. I just think this is a bad idea."

Rex's smile faded and he turned his face away. "Doc. You know why I have to go." Holiday looked up at him sympathetically about to respond-

"There!" Caesar exclaimed lifting his mask away and holding up the projector. "Now all that's left is to see if it works. Are you Ready Rex?"

"I'm ready." Rex said shifting his goggles down over his eyes. Caesar moved to the open part of the lab and started up the gun. Caesar braced as a golden glow started from the front until it burst forward in an arch of light, congregating into a ball of energy that grew into a swirling portal a few feet away. The lights flickered for a moment.

"I could still come with you," Six said placing a hand on Rex's shoulder.

"Would you guys quit worrying? Like you said, I've done this before, I know my way around. You'd just slow me down" Rex resuming his usual playful smirk. Six nodded taking a step back.

"Fine. But don't forget my samples." Doc fastened a pouch around Rex's waist.

"Again with the samples Doc?" Rex turned towards the portal.

"Be smart, kid," Said Six. Rex gave him a nod and disappeared into the golden glow. "I hope he finds her."

End of Prologue.

 **Authors Note:**

 **Here's a little context:** **This crossover extends the canon timeline of each show to the fullest extent possible. This means that whatever character you see within this fanfic will have experienced everything the actual authors of the show wrote. For Rex this means that this takes place a few months after the series finale of Generator Rex. For Ben this story picks up right after the end of Omniverse. We see Zak in Omniverse, in the episode TGIS, and it's three years after the events in The Secret Saturdays series finale. This also means that Ben has been to Rex's universe in the crossover special Heroes Unites, and Rex has been to Ben's universe in the comic Heroes Times two. So Ben knows both Rex and Zak from previous encounters, Zak knows Rook, Rex knows Gwen and Kevin, etc. Hope you enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 1: Mayhem and Mysteries

_Ben_

"This is awesome. No school, no alien invasions, no universe threatening crisis, no distractions. Just a group of friends in space." Ben said and folded his hands behind his head.

"I have to admit Ben, I had my doubts about this trip. Especially since it interfered with all the summer internships I had lined up." Gwen said adjusting her glasses.

"Internship Sminternship. Who needs that when you can travel the entire universe?" Ben said smugly.

"Exactly" Gwen said folding her arms with a smile.

"I agree, this summer has been quite incredible so far. We were able to visit Ravonna and my sister at plumbers academy, meet the mysterious Eunice Ben told me so much about on Primus-" Rook smirked at Ben

"I don't talk about her that much" Ben said rolling his eyes. Rook ignored him.

"-And even stopped at Anodyne, which no outsider has visited in thousands of years."

"That part was pretty cool. Even if I did have to share a room with Sunny" Gwen said.

"And no one's ruined the rust bucket yet." Kevin said patting the interior of the green space jet as he steered. "What could go wrong?" Just then something hit them from behind and the rust bucket lurched. Rook, Ben and Gwen glared at Kevin. "What?"

"Dude! _Never_ say that" Ben said shaking his head. "I'll see whats up" He stood up, a hand hovering over the omnitrix. Before he could slam his hand down another strike made the ship lurch and he toppled over. The walls of the ship began to spark and the lights flickered.

"Whats-?" Ben looked around as veins of glowing red light began to spread across the walls and ceiling. Gwen and Rook had moved to stand by him. They watched helplessly as the ship was engulfed by the red veins. As it stretched past their feet and over their heads the ship lost power.

Gwen said "It looks like-"

"Uh guys!" Kevin called, "We've got a problem." They ran to the front of the ship to get a look at what Kevin was seeing. In front of them maybe ten yards from the glass but latched on to the ship with tendrils of red and black machinery, was -

"Malware." Ben said darkly.

"But I thought Malware was gone for good!" Gwen said.

"Actually, the last time we saw malware, Vilgax had re-energized him to create a super suit. However, when we defeated him, the Malware suit was lost in space. Could it be possible that Malware was able to re-animate himself?" Rook asked.

Kevin clutched an exposed pipe and absorbed the metal. "Well clearly nothings impossible."

 _Rex_

"This is impossible!" Rex groaned in frustration.

He had been flying for hours just over the city with his boogie pack. He was searching for a sign of Ben, an explosion, an alien attack, a hint of green jacket... anything.

He hadn't planned on it being this hard. After all, every other time they traveled dimensions the two had sort of just conveniently run into each other. Why couldn't anything be easy?

He was grateful that doc had insisted he wear his power suit, otherwise his machine would have given out a while ago. He had come out of the portal in what Rex assumed would be the location of Providence HQ, that is if Providence existed in this wacky dimension. The plan had been simple, although in hindsight it wasn't much of a plan. Step one: Find Bellwood. Ben had mentioned that that was his home town when they first met. Rex managed to find that pretty easily, going off of the directions Ben had used trying to get home when he was trapped in Rex's world. Things looked a little different this world, but Rex thought he had retraced his steps well enough.

The second and final step to his plan was finding Ben. That was proving to be more difficult. Rex heard his coms click on.

"Rex, hows the coms. Can you hear me clearly?" Holidays voice chimed. He put his finger to his ear.

"Just as clearly as the last eight times you asked." Rex said irritably. She sighed.

"Any progress?"

"Not unless you count flying in circles for hours progress." He turned in the air and flew backwards, scanning the area he had just covered. "Sorry Doc, I guess I just figured I would have run into something by now- UG," Rex let out a cry as he slammed into some sort of sign and fell onto the pavement.

"Rex?"

"I'm fine Doc," He said, sitting in a pile of his machinery. He rubbed his head and looked up. "I just ran into some sort of… Mr. Smoothie!"

"What?"

"Ben mentioned this place once. I think it's important. I'll let you know when I find something." He said quickly and shut off the coms. He stood up feeling relieved that he had one clue at least.

He looked around. There were some people milling about with smoothies, giving him odd looks. _Probably because I just fell out of the sky_ , he thought. Others sat at tables under umbrellas. Rex sighed. Ben wasn't there. He turned to go when a thought occurred to him and Ben's voice rang in his memory. ' _You've really never heard of me? Im Ben Tennyson! Ben Ten? Like the biggest hero in the world?'_

"Well if everyone in this world knows him," Rex muttered, "then someone has to know where to find him." He walked up to the window of the smoothie shop.

Rex leaning against the window frame trying to look nonchalant.

"Welcome to Mr. Smoothie how may I help you?" Asked a sleepy looking teen from inside.

"I'm looking for someone that might go here a lot. His name's Ben Tennyson. Ever heard of him?" Rex looked over his shoulder for dramatic effect, then looked back at the guy in the window who gave him a blank look.

"Ben Ten." Rex said again standing up straighter, "He's about yay high, wears a green jacket, might be a famous superhero?"

"Uh.. I'm supposed to tell you about the chocolate carrot smoothie special.." Rex groaned and dug in his pocket for change. He splayed it out on the counter.

"I'll have the carrot-whatever. Now where can I find Ben?"

"I heard he hangs out in that weird underground alien market." The kid said counting his change.

"Alien Market?" That sounded promising. "Where?"

"I just told you. It's underground. But I think there's still a whole in the ground downtown from the last frog alien invasion-" He said, but Rex was already on the move.

"Thanks!" He called before settling his goggles over his eyes and taking off on his Rex ride.

"Wait, your forgot your smoothie!" The kid shouted after him.

 _Zak_

"There it is!" Zak called. He and Fiskerton crouched behind a rock in a particularly forested cove. Zaks parents, Solomon and Drew were following closely behind. A large semi aquatic cryptid was moving in the shallow water, nudging the ground with a delicate horn.

"Careful Zak. Remember the Alkali Lake Monster is highly territorial. If we get too close, it might attack." Solomon called to Zak.

"We have to get close to it eventually if we're going to relocate it right?" Zak responded eyeing the cryptid curiously. He rubbed his head absently which had been aching ever since they landed the air ship. "How did this guy even end up all the way in the Great Lakes anyway"

"Could this be a migratory event?" Solomon Speculated.

"A giant, forty foot lake monster migrating across three states unnoticed? I don't think so Doc," Drew replied.

"It's not impossible. The only way we even knew it was here was because the plumbers noticed the cryptids activity so close to their base. For all we know this could be regularly occurring," He responded.

Zaks parents continued debating in the background, as Zak moved around to get a better view of the monster. Fiskerton came up behind him. He made a series of noises at Zak who glanced quickly at his parents. They were still distracted.

"No Fisk I didn't use my powers to find the lake monster," Zak said in a hushed tone. "Not that I needed to. You could smell that thing for miles." He said pinching his nose. Fisk responded and folded his arms.

"Yes I know you think we should tell mom and dad about my powers coming back. Just.. let me find the right time okay?" Zak pleaded. Fisk grumbled and Zak smiled.

"Boys," Drew called. Fisk and Zak moved stealthily back towards Drew and Doc.

"Are we going to bring the lake monster back to alkali lake?" Zak asked..

"Mmm your father thinks we should leave the cryptid alone for now." Drew said skeptically.

"We'll monitor it's activity for a few days, before we interfere. If it starts causing trouble, then we'll relocate. Otherwise,

the lake monster hasn't been noticed by the residents of this area. Hopefully it stays that way." Doc said.

"Aw no action? I thought a mission from the plumbers would be cooler," Zak said.

"Speaking of which, we should head to the plumber base to clue them in on the situation." Drew said.

 _(Later at Plumber Base)_

"Magister Tennyson, it's been too long" said Solomon as he shook hands with Max Tennyson.

"Please Solomon, just call me Max," Max said with a smile. He greeted the Saturdays warmly.

"Is Ben around, sir?" Asked Zak.

"I'm afraid not, son. Ben and his cousin have been off exploring the universe during summer break. I doubt they'll be back any time soon." Max replied.

"Exploring space? Talk about an exotic getaway. If you're ever in need a cryptozoologist in space you should give us a call." Zak said. Fisk nodded in agreement.

"Cryptids are technically natives of Earth kiddo. Im not sure I see space travel in your future." Drew said.

"I'll be sure to keep you in mind in any case," Max said pleasantly. "Now about this cryptid-" He was cut off by the sound of an alarm blaring. Max moved to a console where a plumber was frantically typing on a computer. She pulled up a report on the screen.

"Magister, there seems to be some sort of disturbance in Undertown." The plumber explained.

"Can you get us a visual?" Max asked asked the Saturdays came up behind them. The plumber continued her typing and a video came up on the screen. The scene the unfolded was utter chaos. A pair of creatures, large and grotesque, were on a rampage in the alien market. Debris was thrown this way and that as the creatures destroyed booths and tables. Aliens screamed and ran from the area.  
"What are those things?" Zak asked.

"I'm not sure. They don't look like any alien I've ever seen," Max said in a concerned tone that worried Zak. "Get some plumbers on the scene. I need those things contained." Another plumber moved to do as he asked.

"They look kind of familiar…" Drew started. Zak squinted skeptically at the gangly monsters on the screen. They were a greenish color, about six or seven feet in height, with multiple limbs or tentacles coming from odd places. What looked like hair covered their glowing red eyes. Zak gasped as recognition hit him.

"Guys! I think those are cryptids!" But something was very wrong.

 **Authors Note:**

 **Sorry for the long wait! I wasn't anticipating such a great reaction to my "prologue." It was just something I did for fun. I just recently logged in and saw all of your responses so I whipped up this chapter as fast as I could. As long as even one person is reading I will write for you. I've been doing lots of research to make sure the characters stay as true to canon as possible. Let me know how I did! Btw, all the** **cryptids/aliens I will be mentioning actually exist in the shows so feel free to look them up if you can't remember them by name (I sure couldn't!). Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Allies and Aliens

_Zak_

"Those are cryptids!" Zak exclaimed.

"They can't be cryptids. I've never seen anything like them." Doc said leaning into the screen.

"No Doc, he's right! Look at those eyes, where have we seen them before?" Drew said.

"Vltava River Sprites" Doc said with quiet shock. "We have to get down there." Doc said turning to Max.

"You can head down with the plumber squadron. Looks like they can use all the help they can get." Max said. Before they could move another plumber at a monitor called out.

"Magister! We're getting a distress signal from sector 5. A plumber space craft was just disabled."

"Ben." Max said softly. Then he sprang into action, "Get a team out there now! If theres any active plumber ships in that sector send them coordinates immediately."

"Sir, what about the attack in Undertown?" Asked another plumber. Max looked around trying to think.

"Max, we can handle the crisis in Undertown. You focus on helping that plumber ship," Solomon said. Max nodded and turned away, continuing to shout orders at plumbers who ran here and there reacting to the commotion.

"We can take the air ship, good thing we kept the engines running for Komodo" Drew said.

"What do you think's wrong with them? The sprites I mean. Something looked off. Like they were really sick or hurt," Zak asked as they made it to the airship.

"I don't know Zak. I'm not even sure those _are_ river sprites. They looked somewhat like a cryptic except for their size. But Vltava River Sprites are normally shy and reclusive. All that random destruction out in the open? It just doesn't seem to add up," Drew responded from behind the controls of their ship.

"Maybe its a new species? Something we've never seen before! Or maybe they really are aliens," Zak said excitedly. Drew and Solomon shared a look.

"Whatever they are, we're about to find out."

 _Rex_

"That guy wasn't kidding about the hole in the ground" Rex said, hovering over the gaping mouth of the entrance to Undertown. His coms clicked.

"Rex, I'm picking up low biometric readings. How are you feeling?" Holiday asked.

"All this flying around has got me pretty wiped out" Rex admitted. "But, Biometrics will have to wait Doc. I think I'm getting close to something here."

Six clicked onto the coms link.

"Rex, if this mission becomes too much for you, we're pulling you out" Six said matter-of-factly.

"I can handle it. Ben and the other plumbers are the only people I know that can help me find Van Kleiss. I've got to try."

"Just be careful," Doc said.

"When have I ever not been careful?" There was silence on the other end. He could almost hear their eyes rolling. "Okay, okay I'll be careful." And with that he clicked off his coms.

"Well it's now or never." He did a flip and the air, swapping his wings for the sky glider so the blue energy would give him some light. He flew straight down into the hole, which opened up into a massive cavern after a few seconds. "Woah." Rex gaped in awe at the expanse of the alien market laid out before him. No. Not just a market, a civilization.

He flew over what resembled apartment complexes, and houses, small aliens played and kicked balls in the street. He passes vibrantly colored signs promoting things in a script he didn't recognize, shops and carts where vendors were pitching sales for exotic and scaly foods, plazas filled with aliens of all kinds milling about. As he lowered his glider to the ground in a busy square, no one even gave the EVO or his machine a second look. He unbuilt the sky glider and walked through the crowd, glancing at the vendors booths. One alien was yelling about tentacles on sticks, another asked him if he was interested in some strange looking fruit to which Rex politely declined. Finally, he approached a white polished stand near the edge of the square. A small green alien in black and silver armor was perched on top of the stand selling what appeared to be gloves for all different kinds of hands and appendages. The sign on the front read 'Pakmar's Mitten Cart.'

"Um… excuse me," Rex started.

"Ah! A customer! Pakmar can tell you are a mitten lover. For you, Pakmar will give first purchase half price!" Said the alien in a thick gurgling accent. Rex glanced at his gloved hands and gave him a smile.

"Uh thanks but I actually just wanted to ask you a few questions about-"

"No purchase, no service!" Said Pakmar folding his arms.

"But I-"

"NO Buts!" Pakmar said shaking a mitten in the air.

"I don't have any money!" He said wishing he hadn't used his change on the smoothie guy. Rex thought quickly.

"Ah hah! No money, no service!" Pakmar turned away from him. Rex thought fast.

"I know Ben Tennyson!" He managed to get out, hoping the alien would recognize the name. Unfortunately he did.

"BEN TENNYSON!" Pakmar gasped and jumped down from the stand. He pushed a button and the whole stand folded up rapidly into a small white box. "Ben Tennyson destroys Pakmar's Barbecue Truck. He destroys Pakmar's Lamp Shop and Pet Emporium! No! No service for friends of Ben Tennyson!" The alien hefted the white box onto his back and turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Rex called but stopped when a loud crash came from somewhere behind him. He turned around in time to see aliens screaming and running through the square in all directions. They pushed past him and swerved around him to get away from the commotion. What were they running from?

Thats when he saw them. Two creatures with multiple sets of flailing limbs rampaged through the street. They dwarfed the tallest vendor booths by a couple of feet, throwing fists into the roofs and kicking carts into the air. Their red eyes were crazed and the closest one let out a roar that sent a shiver down Rex's spine.

Rex was taken aback for a second as he took in the scene. He watched as the creature farthest from him ripped the roof off a cart and tossed it across the square where a young alien was about to be crushed. Rex sprung into action morphing his legs into his Rex Ride and speeding toward the alien. He caught her around the middle and managed to drag her out of the way just as the debris hit the ground. Rex set the alien down at a safe distance and she blinked at him in shock.

"Get out of here now!" He said to her and turned back to the two rampaging creatures. Rex felt energy surge through his arms as he made his smack hands. He charged one of the creatures which had raised a fist to crush another alien civilian.

"Oh no you don't," He said as he rammed into the creature with his machine. The impact of the hit shoved the creature into the air where it landed in a nearby cart. Rex moved to attack again when something grabbed his shoulder from behind. He barely had time to see what had grabbed him before the second creature had thrown him across the square and into a wall. The force of the impact left a crater in the wall and Rex slid to the ground. His machines retracted into his body and he let out a groan. Before he could recover the creature charged him again and Rex desperately rolled out of the way. The creature hit the wall and was momentarily stunned.

"Not too bright, are you? How 'bout I knock some sense back into you?" Rex taunted. The creature rubbed its head and roared at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the first creature was stirring. He charged the second one, jumping over it's head at the last second. He created his punk busters and landed on its head, driving the creature into the ground. The first one came at him from the side. He built his funchucks and swung at the creature but it was ready for him and dodged. Before Rex could react, the creature backhanded him and he toppled to the ground. Rex got up quickly but the fatigue from flying around the city all day was hitting him. The two creatures had regrouped quickly and eyed him dangerously, circling him like wolves. He gritted his teeth and tried to build his smack hands but his biometrics failed and his fists sparked in protest.

"Not good." Rex looked up at the creatures and smiled sheepishly, "Uh, time out?" He tried. The creatures sensed his hesitation and ran at him. He jumped out of the way. "C'mon haven't you guys ever heard of a fair fight?"

The first creature turned to him raising a fist in the air and bringing it down fast. Rex threw up his arms and braced for the blow but it never came. He looked up and saw that a grapple of some sort had wrapped around the creatures arm catching it's fist in mid air. Rex's eyes followed the line to the base of the grapple, which was help tight by a teen in orange armor.

The teen wasn't alone. An older man and woman in similar orange suits stood next to him along with a figure that looked like a cross between a cat and gorilla. The woman held a sword and the man activated a glowing glove on his right fist. The kid in orange spoke first, "How about we even the odds?"

 _Ben_

"I have signaled our distress, but I do not know if anyone received the alert with the systems down," said Rook. The ship lurched again under Malwares influence.

"Then we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way!" Ben spun the dial on the omnitrix. "C'mon feedback!" He said and slammed his hand down.

There was a flash of green light as Ben changed. He sighed as he looked down at himself, "Big Chill? Whatever omnitrix. I'll distract Malware, you guys get to Rooks proto-truck." He opened his wings and phased through the top of the ship, then turned to face Malware. He was gone. "Huh?"

Suddenly something hit Ben from behind and he spiraled forward. He righted himself with a flap of his wings and turned towards his attacker.

"Ben Tennyson," growled the low metallic voice of the mutant mecamorph. Malware was fully reconstituted but seemed weaker, his form was thin and almost skeletal. Ben hadn't seen him like this in years.

"Hey Mal, love the new look. Although I think I liked you better as a statue," Ben mocked.

"Here I thought I would have to cross the galaxy to destroy you. But no, the universe delivers you and Azmuths greatest creation to me quite fortuitously."

"You're still hung up on that whole 'I must get revenge on Azmuth with his own creation' thing? You seriously need a hobby," Ben said. He was stalling until Rook got his proto-truck in the air. He couldn't fight Malware for long in space. If the omnitrix timed out…

"There is no greater pleasure than watching your enemies fall," Malware exclaimed and swung a red tendril at Ben. He let out a blast of freezing breath and shattered the tendril before it reached him. He circled Malware quickly, releasing freezing blasts of energy. Malware was momentarily trapped, but the ice around him began cracking as he strained against it.

Rooks proto-truck rose out of the Rust bucket from behind Malware. It was in it's ship form, but facing away from Ben. The back hatch was open and Ben could see Gwen behind a mana shield keeping the air inside. He propelled himself into the truck and the hatch closed behind him. Gwen let down the shield as he reverted back to human form. They watched as Malware broke free of the ice, but before anyone could react, a beam of energy hit Malware, tearing a hole through his center. Ben could see the hole slowly reforming, but Malware turned toward the husk of the rust bucket and retreated, taking the ship with him.

"Where did that come from?" Gwen asked. Just then they heard a signal over their plumber badges and someone spoke. Another ship came into view. Rook looked at her and smiled.

"That would be our backup."


	4. Chapter 3: Realizations and Reunions

Chapter 3

"Fisk!" Zak turned sharply while yanking on the claw, using the momentum to pull the cryptid towards him. Before the large thing could collide with Zak, Fisk jumped in front of him and punched the creature, sending it flying in the opposite direction. His parents saw their opportunity and ran towards the other cryptid. Drew charged it with her sword at the ready, but instead of attacking she caught the cryptic off guard by sliding between its legs so Solomon could take it by surprise. Solomon went high, throwing his powered glove into the monsters face. Drew spun on the ground, swinging her legs around and knocking the cryptids' feet out from under it. The creature toppled. And like that the cryptids were facing a new force of opponents, Drew and Solomon taking the first cryptid while Fisk and Zak faced the other. Rex scrambled to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Who are these guys? He thought. He watched the group battle with amazing speed and agility.

Zak and Fisk dodged and weaved around the other cryptids attacks. Fisk clasped his hands together and held them out. Zak ran towards and Fisk boosted him into the air, where Zak spun quickly, landing an effective kick. Rex through the teen resembled a cat as he stuck a graceful landing. The cryptic staggered back, holding its head and let out an enraged roar. Zak reacted as if he had taken the blow instead of the cryptic, by crying out and clutching his head. Rex stared in confusion. What just happened? He hadn't seen the teen get hit. The creature continued to roar and suddenly Rex doubled over, feeling wave of pain. It was like he could feel the creatures pain through his nanites. But, how was that possible?

His coms clicked and he heard Six's voice. 'Rex? What's happening. Your vitals have spiked.'

"Not a good time, Six," Rex said through the pain.

Fisk went in to protect Zak but the creature swung its arms wildly and swatted Fisk away. Zak fell to one knee and rubbed at his eyes but Rex managed to stand upright. His focus was on the cryptid, as it's eyes flickered with a strange yellow light. In it's mad fury it swung its powerful limbs recklessly but the orange clad teen still held his head, helpless. Despite his nanites humming in protest, Rex's instincts took over and he jumped in front of the teen, adrenaline flooded his senses, allowing enough energy to generate his block party. The blue energy shield erupted from his arm and Rex braced against the disoriented creature. With a final burst of energy the shield expanded rapidly, throwing the creature a few feet where it skidded to a stop on the ground. The pain in Rex's mind dimmed. His machines retracted and he turned toward the teen behind him who seemed to be recovering as well. Rex held out a hand to help him up.

"Thanks for the assist," Rex said with a smile. Zak looked up at him and accepted his outstretched hand. Rex pulled him up.

"I should be the one thanking you. My name's Zak Saturday," Zak said as he dusted himself off. The gorilla cat moved towards them making a series of noises. Zak followed Rex's eyes and smiled. "That's my brother Fisk." Rex raised a brow but decided not to question how Zak and Fisk were 'brothers'. It wouldn't be the craziest thing he'd seen all day.

"I'm Rex… uh Salazar," Rex added sheepishly. "Any idea what those things are?" He asked looking back at the creature on the ground and the one the man and woman had fought. They two had managed to incapacitate their creature as well and were in the middle of restraining it.

"We think they could be some sort of cryptid. Cryptids are species that haven't been proven or disproven by science. Overt science that is," Zak explained easily as if he'd practiced that answer.

"You mean like el chupacabra?" Rex asked. Zak looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah. How did you-?"

"I've had a run in with one before," said Rex with a shrug. He thought back to when he met Valentina in Providence outpost where they had dealt with the chupacabra.

"Well these aren't your run of the mill Cryptids. We hardly ever see cryptids attacking for no apparent reason," Solomon cut in walking towards them and smacking his hands together as if they were dusty. Drew was right beside him. She held her sword in one hand and balanced it over her shoulder like a baseball bat.

"Rex, these are my parents, Solomon and Drew Saturday," They greeted each other.

"So, how do you guys know so much about cryptids anyway?" Rex asked.

"We're cryptozoologists! We travel the world studying these guys and making sure they stay secret" Zak said before his parents had a chance to speak.

"What do you think made that want to attack Undertown?"

"Well, we think we've identified the species, but from the looks of them theres been some sort of mutation. It could have been a number of things," Drew responded and went to kneel by the cryptid Rex had taken out. Rex's eyes widened as something clicked in his brain.

"Mutations, huh?" He repeated. 'We theorized there could be mutations, but never anything this random' said Ceasars voice in his memory. Suddenly he remembered why he was here, who he was looking for. The coincidence was too big. He thought back to the battle, to when he felt the cryptids pain as if it were being transmitted through his nanites. There was only way that could be possible…

He moved and kneeled next the the cryptid like Drew had, and laid his gloved hands over it's still unconscious body.

"Hey, what are you-?" Zak started.

"Trying something," Rex responded, and then muttered to himself, "please let me be wrong." Zak saw blue circuit like energy quickly travel down Rex's arm. At first nothing happened, but Rex gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in concentration. As Zak watched, the circuits spread to the cryptidss body.

"Whats he doing?" Drew asked out of the side of her mouth.

"Wait mom look, somethings happening," Zak said. Sure enough, before their eyes the mutant began to change. The extra limbs shriveled and disappeared, the bulging muscles relaxed, the elongated form shrunk to half its previous size, until a whimsy looking river sprite sat before them, looking exactly as Vltava river sprites should. The creature sprung up suddenly, knocking rex onto his rear in surprise. Then the thing scurried away, hopping slightly like a frog until it reached the ledge near the water way and dove in.

Rex stood up.

"How'd you do that?" Zak said. "What did you do?" Rex glanced at Zak with a serious look on his face and said something he thought he would never have to say again.

"I just cured an EVO."

 _Ben_

The plumber ship that intercepted their distress call had ferried Ben, Gwen, Rook and Kevin back to Earth. Ben had complained that it cut their trip short, but Gwen reminded him that they couldn't explore space without a space ship so he reluctantly agreed.

"But I wanted to see the Raths home planet!" Ben whined as they walked through the halls of plumber headquarters in Bellwood.

"Ben, we can still go to Appoplexia, we simply need another ship," Rook said.

"Maybe we could ask Julie if we can borrow her dog," said Kevin.

"We are not asking Julie," Ben said. The doors to the main section of plumber base opened and they walked in. They stopped short to take in the scene in front of them.

"…think we've figured out what's happening with the cryptids," A familiar looking man in orange was engaged in a serious conversation with Grandpa Max.

"Mr. Saturday?" Ben called. Max and Solomon turned around. They had been so invested in their meeting that no one had noticed them come in.

"Ben, Gwen. I'm glad you're all safe." Max said embracing his grandchildren. "The plumbers briefed me on what happened. So Malware is back?"

"Yeah, but we took care of him… for now," Ben said.

"Ben!" He looked over Max's shoulder and saw that Solomon wasn't alone. Zak stood beside him now, a huge grin on his face. Ben approached the family as Max talked to Rook Gwen and Kevin.

"Nice to see you again Mr. And Mrs. Saturday. Zak, what are you doing here? Did the plumbers need your help on another-" Ben stopped when he noticed someone familiar standing behind Zak. "Rex?"

Rex turned towards the sound of his name and a big smile crossed his face.

"Ben," He said.

"What are you… how did you… why?" A million questions reached through Bens mind. Zak looked back and forth between them.

"Wait a second, you two know each other?" Zak asked.

"Oh yeah Rex and I go way back," Ben said jokingly, "We met when a mecha monster called Alpha dragged me to his dimension and-"

"Woah, woah, hold the phone! You're from another dimension?" Zak asked gawking Rex. "And you just didn't think to mention that."

Rex held his hands up in defense, "It didn't come up! What was I supposed to say 'Hi I'm Rex, we just met, by the way I'm from another universe'?"

"Uh, yeah!" Zak said.

"Dude, what are you doing here? Is Alpha back? Did the pack come looking for more Promethium?" Ben rambled off quickly. Rex wore a concerned look.

"'Another universe'. You just got like ten times cooler," Zak said to Rex and he smiled.

"Listen it's a long story but I need your help. Actually after what I saw today I could use both of your help," Rex said looking between Zak and Ben.

"Gwen, Kevin, Rook! We're gonna need a raincheck on that trip," Ben said with a grin.

"Great, robot kid's back," Kevin said with an eye-roll. Gwen elbowed him in the ribs.

"It's good to see you, Rex," she said with a smile. Ben introduced Gwen and Kevin to the Saturdays and Rook to Rex then insisted that they talk at Mr. Smoothie. Zak's family stayed behind to fill Max in on the events of the day. On the way to the smoothie place, Zak launched into the story of the Evo-Cryptid attack in Undertown. Rex noticed Zak left out the part about the strange yellow light and the connection he and Zak seemed to have with the Evo-Cryptid, but before he could ask, Rook turned to Rex.

"And what, might I ask, is an EVO exactly?"

"It's a mutation created by exposure to active nanites," Gwen said, then looked at Rex for confirmation. He nodded. "But where did the nanites come from? Is that why you're here?"

"And if we help you fix it will you leave?" Kevin asked.

"Kevin!" Gwen scolded. Rex rolled his eyes.

"Trust me I don't want to be here any longer than necessary, but that's not exactly why I came," Rex said. "I'm looking for a guy named Van Kleiss. He's a criminal from my dimension and a total nut job. The pack works for him. Last time I was in this dimension the pack was trying to steal Promethium for Black Knight so they could get Van Kleiss out of limbo." Ben nodded, but Rook and Zak gave him blank looks. Rex shrugged apologetically, "Long story. The short version is he's an A class villain thats tried to take over the world like a gazillion times. Apparently his master plan was to use these things called meta nanites that would give him god-like powers so he could take over the world. Turns out my brother and parents programmed the nanites so only I could use them, so I used them to cure the world of EVOs," At this Ben's eyes widened.

"Are you saying you're all powerful now? Cause that would be totally awesome! Here, read my mind," He asked leaning forward with a look of concentration.

Rex laughed, "No I deactivated them after the cure event. I don't know if anyone should have power like that." Kevin smirked at Ben.

"Hear that Ben? Not everyone carries ultimate power around on their wrist."

"Don't bring Alien X into this. He's a last resort," Ben said sipping on his smoothie defiantly.

"Anyway," Gwen said glaring at the two of them. Zak laughed. She looked at Rex and waited for him to continue.

"After the cure event, one of Van Kleiss' lackeys helped him escape, an EVO named Breach. She opens rifts in space and can travel through them. I knew she could teleport through pocket dimensions, but I wasn't sure she could access this one." Rex said.

"Then how did you know to look here?" Zak asked. Rex looked down at his hands.

"Van Kleiss had been off the grid since the event. No sign of him or the pack anywhere. I kind of just hoped that he wouldn't come back this time. His master plan epically failed, and without EVO's he's kind of out of power. So I didn't look for him and for a while everything was pretty quiet. But, about a month ago… my girlfriend Circe went missing. Circe, was part of the pack in the past, so I think she took it personally when Van Kleiss got away. I found some clues that makes me think she was looking for the pack, and I think when she got too close to finding them, Van Kleiss took her. I managed to follow her lead to this universe," He said.

"And since you and Zak found an EVO, that confirms your suspicions that Van Kleiss must be somewhere in this world," Gwen finished for him.

"Wait I'm confused. Why does finding two EVOs mean that Van Kleiss is here? What if they were infected when you traveled dimensions?" Zak asked.

"That's the thing. EVO's have't existed since I cured my Earth. The fact that there are EVO's here means that someone must have programmed new nanites to corrupt those cryptids. Van Kleiss was on the original team of nanite researchers so he knows how to program nanites…"

"Which, means he could must have been behind the cryptid attack," Ben said.

"This does not add up. Surely a human, animal, or even alien host would have been easier to come by. Why would Van Kleiss choose two cryptids to target?" Rook asked. Everyone looked at Rex, who looked at Zak.

"Why are you looking at me?" Zak asked.

"I may know Van Kleiss, but cryptids are kinda your thing," Rex said fiddling with the straw in his mostly untouched smoothie. Zak thought for a minute. He thought about what Rex had said about Van Kleiss. He used EVO's for power, but why would he target cryptids when they were so much harder to find?

"I… I don't know," Zak said finally.

"Then it looks like we have a mystery to solve." Ben said with a devilish grin.

"The last thing I want is to drag you all into some crazy save-the-world mission. It's my fault Van Kleiss is here, if the plumbers could help me find him, then I'll take him down." Rex said.

"Hold on, you don't think you're doing this alone do you?" Zak said. "It may be your villain, but he's messing with cryptids. This is my fight too."

"Sorry Rex but the whole 'saving the world' thing? That's kinda our job," Gwen said gesturing to the group.

"Gwen is right, as plumbers, it is our duty to assist," Rook said

"It's not like we have anything better to do with no space ship," Kevin shrugged.

"Thanks guys. I really could use all the help I can get," Rex admitted.

"This can only mean one thing," Ben said with deadly seriousness. Everyones eyes turned to him. He paused for a moment, then jumped out of his chair dramatically and yelled, "SUPER HERO TEAMUP!"

 **A/N: Hey! I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but its my favorite so I couldn't wait. FYI, Rex cured both cryptids, and both the river sprites returned to the undertown water system. I just skipped over the part where he cures the second one because I didn't feel like explaining it was necessary and it jumps to Ben's point of view. Also, I live for your reviews so please feel free to leave a comment, question or theory. Let me know how I'm doing on my first story! More to come this weekend. As always thanks for reading and hope you enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 4: Foes and Falsehood

Days Prior

Argost opened his eyes to an unfamiliar scene. He blinked down at his aching body, a hodgepodge of crypid parts a certain Dr. Animo had created. Was Animo the one who woke him up this time? He looked out and saw figures standing in the shadows.

"Greetings and bien venue. To whom do I owe the pleasure?" Argost said his voice dripping with hauteur. Two figures stepped forward into the dim light.

"V. V. Argost. I am the one who brought you back. You can call me Van kleiss. You have your friend here to thank for bringing your particular...situation to my attention." Argost eyed the man that stood before him. He had long slightly disheveled black hair, wore a beat up tailored maroon coat, and held a stance of misplaced self-importance. He also noted that the man had a mechanical left arm. Alien technology perhaps? Argost turned his attention to the spider cryptic-human hybrid that the man had gestured to.

"Ah Munya. They don't make henchmen like you anymore now do they?" Argost said.

"Of course I've made a few adjustments to that vessel you inhabit. It's much sturdier than before. You'll also find that you won't have the same reliance on life force any longer, now that I've infused you with nanites."

"Nanites you say? My my you certainly have gone to quite the lengths to get me here. And what is it I can do for you Mr. Van Kleiss?" Argost asked knowingly. Van Kleiss watched Argost flex and stretch his long idle body, testing its new strength.

"I determined that with your particular set of a expertise an alliance between the two of us could be quite useful."

"Is that so?" Argost said with a coy smile.

"It is my understanding based on my own research as well as what Munya here has told me, that your once wielded power. A power so great, it could make armies of creatures bend to your will, bring humanity to it's knees. A power with limitless potential. The power of 'Kur'," Van Kleiss said his eyes glinting with greed.

"M'yes and then I lost that power thanks to a bratty teenager. So sorry to disappoint," Argost said snidely. He glanced around the room quickly. He had humored this human long enough. Van Kleiss sensed he was losing ground.

"You and I are quite similar in that sense." Van Kleiss said calmly. "I too held god like power in my grasp only to have it ripped away by the undeserving. But that was another life. Another world."

"While I do so enjoy hearing about the terrific misfortune of others, I have been robbed of quite enough of my life," Argost said having lost his patience with this human,"I thank you for the resuscitation but I should be off now. There is a certain Saturday I must enact vengeance upon. Munya!" Argost called to his sidekick. The half cryptic man took a step toward his master but Van Kleiss held out an arm to stop him.

"I come from a world of nanites, once filled with powerful creatures called EVO's, not unlike the crypts you know so well. Munya and I have been working on ways to… improve cryptids with these nanites. So far it has been rather successful."

"Improve?"

"I can give them tremendous strength, speed, and power. However, I still seem to be missing one crucial element. Control. That is where you come in. You, the great V.V. Argost, who even before your stint as a god knew how to use cryptids, to manipulate them to do your bidding. Together we can gain control and build an army worthy of a mighty reckoning. You will have your revenge." Argost considered this idea. Van Kleiss continued.

"Too long have great minds like yours and mine been denied the influence we deserve. I'm proposing we change that."

Argost looked at the human with a kindling of interest, "I'm listening."

Present time at Mr. Smoothie:

One cryptid EVO prowled in the growing shadows of early evening. They watched the group of teens talking and laughing at the smoothie shop. One of them was a target, but the lone EVO waited patiently for a chance to pounce.

"…and then I turned into upchuck and took the Alpha back to the null void," Ben said finishing his story for Zak and Rook.

"An impressive feet," Rook said.

"Okay, okay but who would win in a fight? Rex or Ben?" Zak asked. Ben and Rex smirked at each other.

"My moneys on Tennyson," Kevin said sipping his smoothie.

"I don't know Ben, Rex's builds are pretty impressive. Plus, I think he could outsmart you." Gwen said, and Rex laughed.

"Hey!"

"I have to agree with Kevin," Rook said, "You are no match for alien X."

"What about Rex's metananties? From what you told us those seemed pretty powerful," Gwen countered.

"Ok new rules. No using metananites or alien x. Thats just cheating," Zak said.

"Then it's a tie," Rex said crossing his arms.

"What? I would totally kick your butt," Ben said.

"Or turn into Waybig and stomp on you," Kevin added.

"Oh really? You seemed to be losing pretty badly when we fought the first time." Rex said playfully.

"You sure you don't have amnesia again? The way I remember it, I was going easy on you," Ben said said matching his light tone.

"Suuuure." They all laughed lightheartedly, but Zak rubbed his head which was suddenly throbbing. He looked around warily.

"Anyone want a refill?" He asked getting up.

"Ooo ooo can you see if they have any more lemongrass-root?" Ben said.

"Ugh, It's a good thing your taste in friends is better than your taste for smoothies," Gwen said making a face. Zak smiled.

"One lemongrass root smoothie coming right up!" He said and he walked around to the window. The group continued to talk and laugh at the table.

Zak ordered from the window and the guy went to the back to make his smoothie. Zak could feel his headache worsening quickly. His mind sensed a cryptid near by, and his powers flooded out, leaping to make a connection. He held his head in one hand and cried out as his eyes started to glow yellow. The light around his eyes flickered on and off rapidly as he fought for control of his powers.

"No, no! Not now…" He said in a low hiss. The eyes of the cyrptid EVO still lurking near by flickered with yellow light as well.

"I know you're there," He said aloud. _Whats a cryptid doing in the city?_ He thought. He turned toward the back of the building, and as he watched a large, wolf like EVO appeared from the shadows. It moved silently, and purposefully towards him, but not close enough to be seen by anyone but him. From the horns on the EVO's head, Zak guessed it was once a Calopus, and anger twisted up inside him that such as peaceful cryptid had been made into the deadly creature standing before him.

"Didn't know cryptids liked Smoothies," Zak said pulling out the claw.

Much to Zak's surprise, the creature began to speak.

"Zak Saturday I presume? Your reputation precedes you," Said a smooth voice with an accent.

"Don't tell me EVO's talk now too?" Zak said. The cryptid laughed chillingly. It was only then that Zak noticed something attached to the back of the cryptids neck, a neural parasite. Which meant someone other than the cryptid was in control. "Who are you?"

"We haven't met, but I'm sure we will see each other face to face soon enough. I hear you and your little band of misfits have been looking for me," the voice crooned. Zak glanced over his shoulder, but he and the EVO were out of sight to Ben and the others.

"Van Kleiss," He guessed.

"Ah it appears my reputation proceeds me as well."

"What do you want with the cryptids? Why turn them into EVOs?" Zak demanded. As his focus shifted from himself to Van Kleiss, his powers took over, and light began to spread from his eyes to surround his body. The EVO's eyes widened slightly but Van Kleiss made his voice causal.

"It's simple really; Cryptids are strong but EVOs are stronger," Van Kleiss said, and the EVO shifted slightly, showing off its incredible size. He paused and then added, "I expected more wit from the legendary kur."

At this Zak's eyes narrowed and the light around him flared with his emotions, "Don't call me that. I'm not kur anymore," He growled.

"No? Could have fooled me."

Zak looked down at himself and realized he had let go of his powers. He quickly reigned them in taking a few steps back, and as the yellow glow faded the resulting backlash of energy made him dizzy.

"You seem to be lacking considerable restraint. It's a miracle no one else has figured out that you once again hold the power of kur."

"How do you know so much about me?"

"I've been watching you for some time child-"

"That's super creepy," Zak said. Van Kleiss ignored him.

"-and I have some allies as well. I see you have chosen to align yourself with Rex. I'd rather he know as little about my plans as possible. Say a word to him about our little encounter, and I'll see to it that the return of kur is announced a bit more publicly."

"What do you want?" Zak said narrowing his eyes.

"I want what I have always wanted. What I deserve." He said darkly.

"I'll show you what you deserve!" Zak said raising the claw.

"One mango blueberry smoothie!" Zak was startled by the worker returning to the window. Zak quickly turned back to Van Kleiss but the EVO he had control of was gone.

"Thanks," Zak mumbled and took the drink from the guy, still staring into the shadows where the EVO had just been. He tried his best to not stagger as he walked back to the group. He felt exhausted after his internal power struggle, and wondered if Van Kleiss had shown up just to mess with him, or if there was something else going on. He had to tell his friends he'd seen Van Kleiss... right? He handed Ben the drink and sank into his chair. Ben thanked him and quickly slurped down half of the smoothie. Rex glanced at Zak who was staring absently at the table.

"You okay Zak?" Rex asked.

"Huh?" Zak looked at Rex and made a split second decision he instantly regretted. A decision to lie,"Oh yeah I was just thinking about how we're going to stop Van Kleiss. If he even is the one responsible for making cryptids go EVO," Zak improvised lamely.

"Don't worry, Zak. We'll find a way to help the cryptids _and_ take down Van Loco. I promise," Rex said with a smile.

"Heh. Yeah," Zak said but his shoulders slumped again. Rex frowned.

"Aw man! This is mango blueberry! That guy totally got the order wrong." Ben said popping the lid off the smoothie and looking at the drink.

"I'll drink it," Gwen said rolling her eyes. Ben handed her the drink with a grumble.

"Sorry, Ben. I should have checked," Zak said looking at the drink in confusion. Rex furrowed his brows at Zak's odd demenor, then turned on a half smile.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm beat," Rex said. "Anyone got a spare bed lying around?" Zak looked up, suddenly grateful for the excuse to go home.

"You could crash in the air ship! Theres plenty of room," Zak said.

"They've got a game room!" Ben stage whispered behind his hand. Rex laughed.

As the teens walked off, Zak gave one look back over his shoulder, guilt weighing on his heart.

.

"What are you waiting for? You were supposed to kill him!" Argost snapped to the real Van Kleiss as they watched from a considerable distance.

"That was before I realized he still holds the power of kur. I thought you said that power was gone."

"You didn't even know what kur was until you met me," Argost roared. "If the Kur power had returned then the anti-kur power should have resurfaced as well and yet here I stand impotent. It seems the imp still has a few tricks up his sleeve," Argost said more to himself than to Van Kleiss.

"Indeed. He didn't mention our conversation to Rex, which leads me to believe this secret of his is more important than we thought."

Argost laughed wickedly, "And if there is one thing I do know, it is that the Saturday boy is all too easily manipulated. What of the other boy, the one who cures your EVOs?" Argost said the word EVOs like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Ah Rex. I am aware that he is a liability. I had certain safeguards put in place well in advance on the off chance he showed his face in this world," Van Kleiss said with a slight smirk. "What do you know about the others?"

"Ben Tennyson is a considerable threat. The rest seem rather inconsequential," Argost said sounding bored of the topic.

"Then perhaps we will have to deal with this Ben Tennyson."

 **A/N- Happy Holidays! I have writers block and I changed this chapter a _ton_ of times *sigh*. Enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 5: Friendship and Fallout

**A/N: Drama follows. Enjoy**

Rex stirred from his sleep blinking his eyes open. It was dark and for a moment he was confused, thinking he was still in his room at providence base. He sat up, remembering that he was in the guest room of the Saturday family's airship. Zak had said his uncle Doyle used this room when he came to visit.

There were all sorts of strange objects and weapons lying on the shelves and wardrobe of the room. Rex figured they mustn't be too important of dangerous if they were just left out in the spare room, but decided not to touch them anyway. The one thing the room didn't seem to have was a bathroom so, rubbing his eyes, Rex ventured into the hall in search for one.

He noticed the door to the kitchen was open, and as he walked by he heard noises and peaking his head into the room. Zak was rummaging in the fridge, the fridge light was the only light in the room, illuminating his figure in blue.

"Can't Sleep?" Rex asked. Zak jumped and a Tupperware container fell from his hands. They both cringed as the loud sound reverberated through the quiet kitchen.

"Dude! You almost gave me a heart attack," he said as Rex laughed.

"My bad. Got anything good in there?" He sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Zak pulled out two sodas and threw one to Rex.

"What are you doing awake?" They asked at the same time. Rex smirked.

"Looking for the bathroom Why is your airship so big? It'll be a miracle if I can find my room again," he said popping open the can. Zak smiled.

"We spend a lot of time living in the airship because cryptids are all over the world. It's easier to help them this was if we don't have to go all the way home after every mission," Zak said.

"Makes sense," Rex said thinking of providences mobile ship, the Keep. "You never told me why you're awake."

"I-I've had trouble sleeping lately is all," he said with a shrug.

"Is it because of the crytpids?" Rex asked. Zak looked at him in alarm for a second and then realized what he meant.

"Oh… yeah I'm worried I guess," It wasn't a total lie. "I've dealt with creeps like van Kleiss before. C'mon, let me show you something."

Rex stood by Zak at the desk in his bedroom. He looked over Zak's shoulder at the Weird World website as Zak talked about his past.

"So the ancient mystical something-or-other was destroyed with Argost?" Rex said.

"You mean the Kur power? Er-yeah that-thats gone. But Argost managed to come back. Actually thats how me and Ben met when we teamed up to stop him," Zak said.

"If Argost managed to survive getting blown to bits then how come kur didn't?" Rex asked although it was more like he was thinking out loud. Zak looked at him in surprise. He rambled an answer but all Rex caught were words like "mystical", "antimatter", and "explosion." Zak quickly changed the subject.

The next morning, Drew set a plate of pancakes down on the kitchen island.

"Eat up boys," she said.

"Thanks Mrs. Saturday," Rex said as he and Fisk helped themselves to the pile. Drew smiled. Rex couldn't remember the last time he'd had homemade pancakes. He shoved an entire pancake in his mouth, but stopped chewing abruptly when he saw Komodo watching him and licking his snout.

"I can't tell if he wants a pancake or wants to eat ME," Rex whispered to Fisk who giggled gruffly.

"Mom, don't you think we should be focusing on finding more EVO's" Zak said irritably. He hadn't slept a wink too busy worrying about Van Kleiss, and was nursing a major headache. The thought of eating made him sick.

"Theres plenty of time for that after breakfast, hero," Drew said ruffling his hair. Zak smoothed his hair back down with a scowl.

Fisk skewered a pancake on a fork and danced it towards Zak playfully. Zak watched him with his chin in his hand.

"I'm not hungry," he said.

"Aww," Fisk purred, and made sounds like an airplane while inching the pancake towards Zak. Komodo rounded the corner of the kitchen island, and Zak was overwhelmed by the cryptids.

Fighting his powers, he pushed his chair back suddenly and stood up.

"Ok just cut it out!" Zak half shouted, knocking the pancake out of Fisk's hand. They all looked at him in surprise as the fork clattered to the ground. Zak turned on his heal and stalked out of the room, muttering something about getting air.

"What has gotten into him?" Drew asked quietly. Fisk's ears drooped and Komodo ate the pancake off the floor. Rex said nothing.

Rex walked onto the deck of the airship after helping Drew with the dishes. He found Zak's dad at a table looking at a hologram of data. He looked up from his research.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt Mr. Saturday. I was just looking for-"

"Actually, Rex it's perfect timing. I was hoping you could take a look at some data we collected. You're expertise on EVO's could be really beneficial." Solomon said with one hand on his hip and the other on his chin. He studied the data in a way that reminded Rex of Caesar. Rex smiled.

"Sure thing."

Meanwhile, Drew found Zak in his room. He was at his desk working on upgrades for the claw. She glanced at his computer which was open to "weird world", and sighed.

"Hey kiddo," She said leaning against his doorframe. "We gonna talk about what happened this morning?"

"What about it?" Zak said not meeting her eye. He crossed his arms a little defensively but when Drew looked at his face she didn't see anger, she found sadness. She crossed the room and leaned against his desk putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Zak, you think I haven't noticed you've been acting strange lately?

Your secretive, you don't eat, you barely sleep. You're father and I are worried. And now you've stopped speaking to Fisk… Honey, if theres something going on you can tell me," she said. He looked at her for a moment struggling to find the words. Could she forgive him for lying about his powers returning? Or pretending that he hadn't spoken to Van Kleiss? He looked away from her, his eyes finding his computer screen which was open to Argost's picture. Zak sighed, wondering if he had become just like his old enemy by keeping so many secrets. Something suddenly clicked in his mind. He had spoken to Van Kliegs through a neural parasite, Zak had only known one person to use those. Van Kleiss had mentioned having "allies of his own". That means he had someone helping him, someone like-

"Argost," he said.

"What?"

"Mom its Argost, he has something to do with this."

"Honey, your dad already checked with the plumbers, they have his body in a secure facility. If he had managed to escape we would know," Drew said.

"Think about it. Theres no way Van Kleiss knows so much about cryptids. Someone else is pulling the strings and it has Argost written all over it," Zak understood now. Van Kleiss had practically spelled it out for him.

"Its possible," his mom said though she didn't sound convinced.

"Maybe Im just paranoid, but we have to at least go and see for ourselves," Zak pulled out his phone and dialed Ben.

Ben blinked his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness.

"Where am I?" He said and his voice echoed strangely. He walked forward and found himself in a familiar hallway lined with lockers and fake tiled floors.

"I'm… at school?"

"Ben Tennyson," Hissed a familiar voice. It sounded like it was coming from all around him. Ben knew instantly who the voice belonged to.

"Malware," Ben said narrowing his eyes. He heard Malware laugh and footsteps running down another corridor. Ben ran towards the sounds. As he turned the corner, he stopped and squinted into the dark. There was a strange light crackling on the other side of the hall, like an exposed wire. A figure stood at the end of the hall, silhouetted by the strange light. Ben realized the electricity was coming from the figure.

"Hello?" He called. As he shuffled closer, the figure came into view and he recognized it as a Conductoid. Suddenly, the conductoid lunged towards him. Ben went to slam on the omnitrix, only to realize it wasn't on his wrist.

"The Omnitrix! Where-" but he couldn't finish his sentence because the alien cleared the length of the hall in seconds. Ben turned and ran, ducking as the alien lunged at him. He abruptly reached the end of the hallway, his eyes widening as he realized it was dead end. He looked around in confusion knowing it hadn't been closed off a moment before. Ben took a deep breath and turned to face the alien.

"Any chance you want talk this out?" He asked. It only laughed in response. It rushed him suddenly, grabbing him by the colar of his hoodie and raising him into the air with one arm. It's other arm crackled with electricity, illuminating its face. Instantly ben knew this wasn't just any alien.

"Feedback?" He said in a half whisper. As soon as he said it a green omnitrix symbol lit up on the aliens chest, and then Feedback spoke:

"Don't fail me again," was all the contuctoid said before it supercharged with electricity and everything went white.

Ben startled awake, his hand instinctively moving to the omnitrix. He sighed in relief when he realized it was on his wrist, right where he left it. He looked around warily and saw only his empty bedroom.

"Just a dream," He said to himself. Light crept through the curtains on his window, and he checked his phone. There was a message from Gwen on the screen. She and Kevin were headed to undertown. Before he could respond his phone went off, it was Zak.

PLUMBER FACILITY

At the plumber base, Rook and Ben lead, Rex and Zak deep into the facility.

"Zak, why are your parents not with us? I thought they would want to see Argost for themselves," Rook asked as they walked.

"They had to check on the cryptid we tracked to the Great Lakes, but honestly I think they just let me come here to ease my mind about Argost,"

"On good conscience, Im sure. The plumbers are keeping Argost in the vault, with other dangerous weapons and confiscated alien technology. Since his body is no longer animated he did not need a cell in the prison. But believe me, this vault is as secure as can be. Twenty-four hour guard and surveillance protect this corridor. If anyone tried to break in or out we would know it," Rook said.

"How do you even know all this?" Ben asked him.

"It is in the case file. I am surprised you have not read it, considering you were there when we defeated Argost," Rook said simply.

"I didn't even know we had this 'vault'," Ben said making a face.

"A vault description was also in the case file."

"Was 'how to be a know it all' in the case file?" Ben grumbled.

Rex and Zak were having their own conversation out of earshot.

"Hope my dad didn't bother you too much with the science stuff this morning," Zak said.

"I'm used to it. I guess I kind of grew up around scientists," Rex said with a shrug.

"Really? Your parents are scientists too?" Zak asked.

"They were. Actually they died in the nanite event," Rex said glancing away.

"Wow, I had no idea. I'm so sorry," Zak said with wide eyes but Rex smiled.

"You're pretty lucky you know. Don't get me wrong my life has been totally awesome. But when I look at you and your family, I see what life could have been like- if things had been different."

"Thanks for telling me that," Zak said sadly.

"Yeah… kinda killed the mood," Rex said with a smile.

Zak looked down at his hands feeling like he'd taken his family for granted. Zak suddenly felt silly for lying to them, and ashamed for lying to Rex and Ben. He took a deep breath. He had to tell them the truth, even if it meant telling the truth about Kur, "Hey, Rex. Theres something I-"

"We are here" Rook said.

Two plumbers stood in front of a large door at the end of the corridor. They stepped aside when the group approached, and one of them put his badge to a sensor to unlock the door.

Zak was the first inside with Ben close behind. Their eyes swept across the large room, which had a series of cells divided by forcefields containing various oddities and weapons.

"Which of these has a two ton Frankein-Argost?" Ben asked.

"He is in a stasis pod somewhere down this way," Rook said.

"You mean he was in a stasis pod," Rex said. He stood in front of a force field. They ran up behind him. Inside was an empty pod, the door hung open, and the controls sparked like they had been tampered with.

"Argost," Zak spat the word.

"This does not bode well," Rook said.

"Someone must have busted him out," Zak said.

"How did they get in here without anyone noticing. A giant cryptid like Argost couldn't have just waltzed out the door right?" Ben said. Rex shuddered as a shiver went down his spine.

"Unless whoever took Argost didn't need a door to get in," Rex said.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked. Rex walked towards the center of the room.

"Remember when I told you guys about Breach?" Rex said as his eyes searched the ceiling, his fists clenched at his side.

"The EVO who teleports? How are you so certain she had something to do with this," Rook asked.

"Because she's still here. Isn't that right, Breach?" He called. A red light appeared in the air a few feet to Rexs right and they all turned towards it. Breach stuck her torso out so she hung upside down and looked at them.

"My favorite. You always know when I'm watching," She crooned to Rex. He scowled. Ben hit the omnitrix and a green light erupted from it. He turned into a small white alien and shouted "Echo Echo" before multiplying and surrounding the EVO. He let out a high pitched shriek that made everyone cover their ears. Breach screamed and fell from her portal.

"Ben, Wait!" Rex yelled. Ben didn't hear him. Rex jumped into the circle and used his block party to keep the sound waves from Breach. Echo Echo stopped.

"Whats the…big…idea?" three of the white aliens asked. Rex unbuilt his machine and helped Breach off the ground.

"Did you not say that this EVO was helping Van Kleiss," Rook said holding his armed proto-tool.

"It's… complicated. She can help us,. We're still friends, right Breach?" Rex said. Ben changed back to human form, but Zak and Rook didn't seem to relax. Zak held the claw out in front of him. "Breach, whats going on."

"Your friends are meanies. Your friends are always mean." She said crossing her smaller arms. She pointed at Ben and smiled darkly, "That one has a pretty toy."

"I'm sorry. They won't hurt you if you stay calm," Rex said although he moved in front of Ben protectively. "What is Van Kleiss doing here?"

"Van Kleiss likes to brag, but he's such a drag. The monster I stole, because VK needs more control," She said.

"Is she.. rapping?" Zak asked.

"The monster… could she be referring to Argost?" Rook said.

"Breach enough riddles. Where's Circe?" Rex asked.

"Ugh. She's a witch. I never liked her, and neither will you."

"What do you mean? Is she ok? Do you know where she is?"

"Yes. Van Kleiss knows your game is chess, but this pawn has never been black OR white," Breach said cocking her head.

"Oh..kay…" She growled in frustration and seized him by the jacket. He held his hands up to keep his friends from defending him, "Woah, hey!"

"You have to understand!" She said.

"No you need to understand. You have to stop helping Van Kleiss. We talked about this, he's using you."

"Wolves stick together, Rex. And Van Kleiss thinks your pack is getting too strong," She said and then looked past Rex at Ben. Rex eyes widened when he realized what she meant.

"Breach, NO!" He yelled lunging for her, but she opened a portal under her feet and she fell through. They all looked around frantically as portals were tossed this way and that. Rex dodged a portal but couldn't avoid the next one. Breach reappeared, focusing her portals on Ben. He turned into Crashhopper and bounced out of the way. A portal opened in the air and Rex was dumped onto the floor.

"Zak, she's after Ben!" He shouted. Rook cocked his proto-tool and went for Breach, but the EVO opened a portal in his path and something came out. Rex guessed it was an EVO-cryptid and went to help him. But another one came from a portal and faced him. This one wasn't a cryptid. It was-

"Biowulf?" Rex said surprise.

"Rex," said Biowulf.

"How are you still an EVO?"

"Some things don't change," he said swinging one of his mighty claws. Rex dodged.

"So you all just went crawling back to Van Kleiss? After everything that happened?"

"We are loyal to our own kind," Biowolf said swinging at him. Rex created his smack hands and parried with the EVO. Ben was doing pretty well avoiding the portals as his bug alien but Rex had a hunch Breach was only trying hard enough to tire him out. Rex had to focus.

"Do you honestly believe if he had gotten his hands on the Master Control nanites he would have shared any of that power with you? Don't you deserve HIS loyalty?"

"This was your doing. You cured the world and made us greater outcasts than we were before. YOU chose this for us!" Rex was taken aback. His cure had saved the world, its what everyone had wanted… right?

"You know where Circe is don't you? Tell me what he did with her." Rex asked. The EVO just laughed. Rex regained his footing and grounded himself, switching his smack hands for his sword. He knew how to handle Biowulf.

"I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks," He quipped swinging his sword.

On the other side of the vault Ben was tiring.

"You'll have to… do better… than that," He said between jumps as he bounced around avoiding portals. Breach just smirked under her hair. A portal opened above him and a car came out threatening to crush him.

"Uh oh," He jumped out of the way just in time. She threw a portal at him which he was too surprised to dodge. He held his arms out in front of him as the red light flew towards him, but the portal never hit. Zak had Breach caught with the claw. She grabbed the line and swung him into Ben. They both toppled to the ground. Breach laughed.

Zak sat up, "Ok anybody else thinking portal girl is totally freaky."

"Ya, she makes me pretty _jumpy_ ," Crashhopper said. They groaned at him and he smiled, "What? That was a good one."

"You wanna know who the real freak is?" Breach asked sweetly. Zak's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" Ben asked reverting back to human.

"Why don't you ask _him_ ," she said pointing at Zak.

"We're done talking," Zak said landing a spin kick. She shrieked at him. Meanwhile Rex created his punk busters and kicked Biowulf across the room, where he skidded to a halt next to Breach. They both got up growling.

"Ben! I could use some assistance," Rook said struggling with the EVO. He had his proto-tool wedged in its mouth, keeping the creatures powerful jaws from his face.

Rex ran to help Rook as Ben and Zak faced Biowulf and Breach. He created his rex ride and rammed the EVO. It snapped its mouth at him. He traded the rex ride for his blast caster and wrapped the whip around the creatures jaws. Rook made the photo-tool into a bow and shot at its face. It growled and pulled at Rexs machine. Finally Rook landed a kick on its head and the creature fell. Rex released his grip and ran towards it, sliding next to the creature. He went in to cure. His coms clicked in his ear.

"Rex I'm getting high nanite readings from your biometrics. If you take on any more nanites we could be looking at an overload," Doctor Holiday said through his ear piece.

"A little late for that Doc," he said finishing the cure.

"How did this happen?" Six asked.

"He hasn't offloaded in months, but we weren't expecting him to have to cure EVOs. And for whatever reason, the EVOs Van Kleiss create pack a bigger punch," She said.

"We're pulling you out," Six said.

"I'm fine. I just won't take on any more nanites," Rex said

"Rex. There are no emergency offload facilities in that dimension. If you overload there, you could die," Doc said.

"I'm not leaving. Not when I'm this close," He said and then looked back at Breach.

"Rex-" He clicked his coms off. He grunted in frustration and stood up, building his smack hands and walked towards Breach and Biowulf. Zak and Ben were holding their own, Ben changed into Shocksquatch, an alien Rex recognized.

"Thats it. I'm done messing around," Rex said. Breach looked at him with a frown and opened a portal. Biowulf smacked Zak to the ground and charged at Ben who crackled with electricity and sent a shock at Biowulf. While the EVO was stunned, Ben came at him with a fist, punching Biowulf into the portal meant for Rex. Breach screamed in anger, and Rook shot a bola at her entangling her arms.

"Where. Is. Circe?" Rex asked emphasizing each word.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Breach spat.

"We can take her in for questioning aye?" Said shocksquatch.

"Technically we are already in a plumber facility," Rook said. Breach struggled against the ropes and looked at Zak.

"Sounds like a fair trade. Circe for the magic boy. What do you think?" She asked him. Zak backed away slowly.

"I don't-" He started.

"He's not going anywhere," Rex said crossing his arms.

"No. But when Van Kleiss hears I'm gone, he won't be happy. He'll tell everyone-,"

"Tell everyone what?" Ben asked reverting to human.

"He'll tell everyone that I'm kur," Zak said looking defeated. The three teens looked at him in surprise.

"I know I'm late to the bandwagon here but Isn't that old news? You lost your kur power," Rex said.

"Yeah. Except for whatever reason, it's not lost anymore." He said.

"How did that happen?" Ben asked.

"I'm not sure, exactly. I've been hiding it for a few months now..." He said.

"Wait. You mean you could have been controlling the cryptids this whole time?" Ben said with more of an annoyed whine than anger.

"Ben, Listen. These powers are crazy dangerous and way stronger than I remember. I can't control it like I could before," Zak rubbed his forehead absently.

"So why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't tell anyone. Well, Fisk knows but he kinda just figured it out. The last time I was in Bellwood, when Animo brought back Argost, thats when I first felt it. I thought I was imagining things at first. Maybe I did't want to believe that kur was back. But I can feel the power inside me. I guess.. I guess I wasn't ready for kur to return," Zak said.

"Woah Woah, time out. If you only told Fisk that your powers came back then how did Van-Crazy find out?" Rex asked.

"I uh. I talked to him," Zak said.

"You What?!" They all said at once. Zak winced.

"I know. I know, I should have told you. He threatened to tell the whole world my secret and that can not happen."

"Seriously, dude? We've been searching for ages and you knew where he was this whole time? I haven't had time for chili fries in days," Ben said slumping his shoulders at the thought.

"Days? Try searching for months. You could have done something to stop them and Van Kleiss knows it, thats why he threatened you. But instead you let them get away so you can keep up this charade that your life is completely normal?" Rex said hotly.

"I wouldn't consider cryptozoology very 'normal'..." Ben said jokingly. They ignored him.

"You don't know what it was like!" Zak said defensively. "People fought a war over the kur power."

"I don't know what that's like? The consortium almost killed me to get my meta nanite. Bens enemies are still after his omnitrix. You think you have problems? Look around!" Rex pushed past Zak and moved towards the door but Zak caught him by the arm.

"It's not about me. My family was on the run for months because of these powers! I couldn't do that to them again. My parents-" Rex ripped his arm from Zaks grasp and whipped around to face him.

"You're parents are still around. Mine died trying to stop the manic that you've been helping. I'm here to protect the family I have left," He said.

"I'm sorry," Zak said. Rex clenched his fist and Ben and Rook gave each other a look. A tense moment dragged on between the group.

"Let her go," Rex said finally turning to Breach.

"But, what about finding Circe?" Zak asked looking at his in surprise.

"We'll find another way," Rex said.

"Are you certain Rex?" Rook asked. Rex nodded. Rook cut the bola away and Breach shook out her arms. But before she portaled away, she walked up to Rex, who stood frowning at her. She took one of his hands and dropped something into his gloved palm, then disappeared with a smile like the Cheshire Cat. Rex looked down at what she had handed him.

"Zak, could you assist me with the cryptid?" Rook said looking at the the little creature Rex had cured that was now eyeing Rook with wide eyes. Zak nodded and somewhat hesitantly pulled out the claw. He recognized the cryptid as a Bunyip, a technology loving cryptid. The Bunyip noticed their eyes and made a shrill noise, jumping up and latching onto Rooks proto-tool. "Hey!" The Bunyip scurried into a corner with the weapon. "That is not a toy!" Rook said.

"It's ok little guy. You're safe now. Let go of the shootie thing," Zak cooed at the cryptid. It ignored him and rather unceremoniously bit into the photo-tool. Rook grabbed at the sides of his head. "Bad Bunyip!" Zak said. He took a deep breath and let loose his powers. It pent up and restricted energy flowed easily now and Zak relaxed. The end of the claw opened and glowed with gold light, which he focused on the cryptid. The Bunyips eyes glowed in response and it jumped into Zak's arms and fell asleep immediately.

"That. Was. So cool," Ben said.

Rook picked up his proto-tool and frowned at the damage. "Sorry about your gun Rook," Zak said.

"Nothing that can not be repaired," He responded with a smile.

"What did Breach give you?" Ben asked Rex. They looked down at a wrinkled and folded piece of paper. Rex unfolded it and found that it was a photo of Rex, Circe and their friends from Hong Kong.

"A reminder," Rex said.

"What do we do now?" Zak asked stroking the bunyip in his arms.

"There's no WE. Not anymore," Rex said.

"But I can help you with the cryp-"

"I don't need your help," Rex said coldly, then turned and walked out of the vault without another word, fists sparking at his side.

"So I'm guessing your mad at me too huh?" Zak said looking at Ben and Rook. Ben looked at him for a moment then shook his head.

"I get it. I can't say I would have done things differently in your position. And as for Rex.. well lets just say our relationship started out pretty rocky too. He'll come around just give him time. His world was a lot darker place."


	7. Chapter 6: Towers and Treachery

Somewhere in a provisionary lab of an undisclosed location, Van Kleiss glowered in the dim red light of the nanite reactor he had painstakingly pieced together over the past few months. He stared into the light, observing the enhanced nanites he had singlehandedly engineered. After all, the hard work of invention had been done for him by the original nanite team years ago, all he had had to do was improve their designs. And yet, despite all he had devised, he was still coming up short.

"Although finding cryptids has proven considerably easier with your efforts we are still unable to control the EVOs I create. Do you have anything to show for yourself besides my wasted resources?" He asked Argost who paced behind him.

"Testy. Remember you asked me for help, not the other way around. I want just as much to control the cryptidss as you, but they cannot be controlled by anything but kur, and now even that prospect is looking dim," Argost replied eyeing breach.

"Then it seems we are at an impasse," Van Kleiss said. A thought of ridding himself of Argost and his cryptids altogether crossed Van Kleiss's mind, but this was interrupted.

"Perhaps I can offer a solution," Said a low metallic voice. They looked around but found no body to the voice. "You've been approaching the equations from the wrong side. His knowledge of the Earths cryptids cannot help you." Argost raised a brow but the voice continued, "But these machines, these... nanites, they have to power to create life itself." Van kleiss caught sight of a red and black light creeping across the floor. The light seeped out of crevices and corners, moving into a puddle-like mass in the center of the floor. "Who's to say they can't control life as well." As the tendrils of red and black merged together, the mass took shape and rose into a figure, something not quite humanoid. The red circuits of light blinked as it said, "All you need... is an upgrade."

Rex wandered through Undertown, vaguely recalling that Gwen and Kevin said they were down there searching for leads. He'd lost all sense of direction in the bustling alien city and became consumed in his thoughts. He questioned (probably for the hundredth time) what Van Kleiss could be planning. Rex had come here with a plan to find his allies and take down his enemies. But the task grew increasing complicated and Rex wondered who it was he could really trust.

Rex froze as something hard was shoved against his back. He was yanked from his thoughts only to realize he had wandered into a shady part of undertown; the streets were no longer lively with merchants and alien kids, the buildings looked shabby and dark, he felt eyes on him from the shadows.

"Alright kid let's make it quick. Gimme all yer Tadanite and I'll let u keep your head" said a voice from behind him.

"Tada-wha?" Rex said. He realized whatever was pressed against his back must be some sort of weapon. He slowly glanced over his shoulder and raised his gloved hands to show he was unarmed. A fish looking alien a little taller than rex held the weapon against him.

"You heard me, terrain. I ain't got all day" he said.

"I don't suppose you two have seen a big guy with a red head way out of his league come through here?" Rex asked. The green alien made a face. "I'll take that as a no."

Quick as lightning, a pink ball of energy knocked the alien to the side. The alien looked around confused and trained the weapon on Rex. Suddenly a stony mass made impact with the aliens face. Rex realized it was Kevin donning Concrete armour.

"Who's idea was it to let the foreigner wander around the slums of undertown alone?" Kevin asked.

Rex turned and saw he was talking to a pretty purple alien girl with glowing pink hair. She put a hand on her hip. With a wave of her hand, pink energy tied itself around the green alien and he wriggled angrily on the ground.

"If I had to guess, Ben had something to do with it," Gwen said.

"Gwen! Kevin! What are you guys doing over here? I thought you were looking for leads?"

"You don't look for leads on a major villain undertaking in the safe part of town. What are _you_ doing here?" Gwen countered.

"Getting mugged apparently. Isn't it bad enough we have to clean up Tennyson's messes? Now we have to babysit his friends too." Kevin said dusting off his hands.

"Babysit? I had it handled," Rex said.

"Really? From where I was standing it looked like you were about to get blasted back to your freaky robot dimension." Kevin said annoyed.

"Can't you two get along for five minutes? Kevin, stop teasing him," Gwen asked.

"Me? We just saved his sorry butt, the least he could do is thank us." Kevin said.

"Thank you Gwen," Rex said, turning his nose Up at Kevin. Kevin growled and Gwen threw a shield between the two boys. They fumed at each other through the transparent pink energy.

"Rex, Ben gave us a heads up that Argost was on the loose. What happened?" She asked. Rex turned his attention to Gwen.

"Turns out Arogsts "top-security cell" didn't count on evos. When we showed up one of Van Kleiss' old lackies had already busted him out."

"Great. Now theres two evil maniacs on the loose," Said Kevin folding his arms.

"And I'm still no closer to finding Circe" Rex added glumly.

"Actually, maybe I can help. If you have anything that belongs to Circe, I might be able to find her," Gwen said.

"How?" Rex asked.

"Just trust her," Kevin said.

"I don't really have any- wait!" Rex stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out the photo Breach had given him. "It's one of Circe's pictures. Will this work?"

"I'll give it a try," She said.

"What are you going to do?" Rex asked curiously. Gwen's eyes glowed with pink light and after a moment the picture adopted the same pink glow.

"My powers allow me to track the mana of a person by sensing the energy left on something that they touched," Gwen explained while she concentrated.

Finally the glow faded.

"I've got something but it's faint. We should hurry if we're going to follow it," She said. Rex eagerly built his Rex Ride and pulled his goggles over his eyes.

"Hop on!" He said. Kevin shook his head.

"No way thats happening dude. We'll take my car," Kevin said.

Kevin sat at the wheel as Gwen, with pink glowing eyes, directed him. Rex squirmed in the backseat.

"Left here," Gwen said and Kevin turned the car down a busy uptown road. "We're getting close," She said.

Kevin looked at Rex in the rear-view. "So whats with the communicator in your ear?"

"Huh?"

"Your communicator. It works across dimensions?"

"Oh, yeah." Rex said remembering the ear piece for the first time since shutting it off.

"Thats some complex tech. I know a bunch a guys that would pay top dollar," Kevin said offhandedly. Rex took it off then reached over and put it in the cupholder between Kevin and Gwen.

"Keep it," He said.

"Don't you need it to talk to your team or whatever?" Kevin asked.

"Nah. They would just give me an earful and demand I go back to providence. And I'm not really up for following orders," Rex found it familiar; running away from providence. An old habit he'd somehow picked up again. Only this time he wasn't running to find his family, he already had one, he just needed to get part of it back.

They turned again and came to a tall, gaudy red and gold building.

"Stop here," Gwen said suddenly. "Her mana is hard to connect with but this is the last place I sensed something."

"We're at Billions Tower, G. Why would she be in there?" Kevin asked.

"Lets find out," Gwen said.

 _Meanwhile_

"How is looking at old plumber records going to help us find Argost and Van Kleiss?" Zak asked his parents.

"Well we figured that if this Van Kleiss is creating his own nanites then he must be getting his supplies of energy and technology from somewhere," said Drew with a hand on her hip.

"We noticed a pattern in reports of recent crime. These records show every major technological robbery from the past six months. I've narrowed it down by systematically selecting the events with similar characteristics. The items taken in these cases are all the components required to make a takion power core generator," Solomon said.

"Would a power core have enough energy to make a nanite?" Zak asked.

"I'm no expert on that Earths technological capabilities, but a takion generator packs a punch, even by this Earths standards. Van Kleiss would have the energy to create nanites indefinitely. If our theory is correct, then we should be able to predict the next piece of equipment that'll be stolen, and be ready for whoever shows up to take it," Solomon said.

"So can someone explain whats happening… in English," Ben asked narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"Mr. And Mrs. Saturday have linked recent crime activity to Van Kleiss and believe they can use it to set a trap for him," Rook said without hesitation as if he had been expecting Ben to ask.

"So where are we headed," Ben said seriously.

"It looks like there's only two places on earth with the tech we are looking for," Solomon said. "Plumber headquarters, and-"

"Billions tower," Rook and Ben said in unison.

"We'll check it out. You guys warn my grandpa in case the bad guys come knocking." Ben said.

Gwen Kevin and Rex reached the laboratory at the top of billy billions tower.

"I can see Billions is a real modest guy," Rex said scoffing at the gold decor that covered every inch of the building. They heard voices deeper in the lab and went towards the sound, until two figures came into view, one Rex recognized as Scalamander, and the other...

"Circe!" Rex called.

Kevin absorbed the golden floor and knocked Scalamader away with a solid punch. The EVO was taken out by the surprise attacker.

"Rex!" Circe said with shock running up to him. He opened his arms expecting a hug but she pushed him towards the door and looked over her shoulder, "You shouldn't be here."

"Circe, Whats going on? Why did Van Kleiss kidnap you?" Rex asked.

"He didn't," She said looking at Rex sadly.

Scalamander stirred from the ground holding something, as a red portal opened next to him.

"He's got a takion power core!" Kevin said.

"Too late Rex," Scalamander said mockingly before disappearing through the portal. Kevin moved to go after him, but something stepped out of the portal taking salamanders place, a cat like EVO with glowing red eyes.

"Cmon Circe, we're getting out of here" Rex said leading her by the hand. She pulled out of his grasp.

"You don't get it Rex. I'm not going."

Six more portals opened around them, and similar looking creatures came out surrounding the four teens.

"It's a trap!" Gwen said, lighting up with pink energy and donning her lucky girl persona. The EVOs circled them, barring long fangs.

"Did you know about this?" Rex said turning wide eyes on Circe. The EVO's attacked all at once, lunging with their powerful jaws. Gwen flipped over two, hitting them will balls of energy and led them away. Kevin punched one in the muzzle as it snapped at him and it tumbled into another. Rex built his smack hands and swatted one cat to the side as another EVO tackled him. He struggled to hold its powerful jaws away from his face. Thats when Circe blasted it off him with her song.

Rex gaped at her in shock.

"You're an EVO? But you were cured!" Rex said. She didn't meet his eyes.

"No I wasn't. Breach saved me from the cure event..."

"She _saved_ you?"

"She said it was a favor from Van Kleiss. A few months ago… Van Kleiss' contacted me about plans to start over in a new world. This world. He said I could come along if I just helped him with a few missions," She said.

"You're… helping Van Kleiss?" Rex said backing away from her.

"I'm sorry I lied to you. But think about it. I never belonged in our world. Not when EVOs existed and especially not now. I'm incurable Rex. When Breach teleported me away from the Cure Event I missed my one chance to be normal. But here, I can start a new life. We both can! This was the only way."

"You're wrong. Theres always another way, Circe. But for some reason you're always choosing Van Kleiss' way."

"Van Kleiss has changed, he wants to start over. Come with us," She said.

"He's lying to you. I won't be a part of his game."

"Then I guess you've made your choice." She turned as a portal opened for her.

"Circe wait," He said grabbing her hand.

"Rex, if you care about me at all, you'll let me go." He looked into her pleading eyes for a long moment, then let go of her hand. "I'm sorry," She said, her back to him as she stepped through the portal and disappeared. Rex stood gaping at the spot where she vanished, when the doors flew open and Zak, Rook and Ben ran in.

"Guess we're a little late to the party," Ben said.

"What part of this looks like a party to you?" Rook asked.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Rex asked sourly reffering to Zak.

"I'm here to help with the cryptids," Zak said brandishing the claw.

"I told you I don't want your help," Rex said.

"Then its a good thing I'm not a very good listener.".

"Guys! Little Help?" Gwen called. She was struggling trying to keep four EVOs at bay. Rex realized she was shielding an dazed Kevin. The two other EVO's had recovered and growled menacingly.

"That's probably not good," Rex said.

"Great, not this again," Ben said.

"No look! Somethings different. All the EVOs before this were on mindless rampages, but these… this is organized," Zak said. They noticed as he said it that the EVOs eyes all glowed red. "Someone's controlling them."

"Thats _definitely_ not good," Rex said.

The team lept into action, fighting the EVO's back. With the reinforcments they easily outmatched the six cryptids and the heroes finally gained the upperhand.

"Rex, do you think you could cure them?" Zak asked kneeling next to the defeated cryptids sadly. Rex remembered the last thing Doc and Six had told him and shook his head.

"I ca-" Suddenly a final portal opened above zaks head, and a canister fell from it.

"Look out!" Gwen cried instinctively shielding herself, along with Rook Ben and Kevin who were nearest to her. Rex saw in slow motion as the canister hit the ground and burst, releasing a shock of red light. He and Zak were knocked back but the blast wasn't very strong. Rex realized all at once what had happened. It wasn't a bomb, the canister had been filled with nanites.

Zak writhed on the ground as his body reacted to the nanites. Scales erupted from his skin, and a gold light engulfed him. His screams of pain turned to deep roars as he transformed into a towering dragon creature. His eyes turned a golden yellow, and then red as the nanites took control. The five teens looked on in horror.

"No."

Zak had become an EVO.


	8. Chapter 7: Outmatched and Overloaded

The EVO, which no longer resembled Zak, let out a roar that reverberated around the lab. Ben thought he looked somewhat like a dragon you would see in one of those old Camelot movies, only more serpent-like and twice as menacing.

"ZAK!" Ben cried. The EVO turned his head towards teens, as if just noticing they were there. It brought its massive tail around and swung it into the ground. Ben and Rook jumped out of the way to avoid being squished.

Bens heart raced as he locked onto zaks red eyes. There was something familiar about that glow... He pushed it from his mind and activated the omnitrix, shifting through the dial quickly. He prayed for a useful alien, closed his eyes and slammed his hand down.

"Jetray!" He cried shooting into the air. Gwen shot disks of energy at Zak's face, and he growled in annoyance.

"Rex! We'll keep him busy while you cure him!" Ben said. Rex's heart dropped. He couldn't leave Zak like that, but he also couldn't cure him without overloading. Rook shot arrows at Zak's legs with his prototool, Gwens blasts hit the EVO in the chest, and ben flew around his head shooting lasers in his face.

"What's the matter rex, don't like my newest party trick?"Said a voice that made Rex jump. He turned towards the sound and saw Van Kleiss emerge calmly from a portal.

"Been a while VK. Cant say it's good to see you," Rex said building his smack hands.

"All because you couldn't leave well enough alone," Said Van Kleiss.

"So this is your big play? Making Zak go EVO?"

"Your greatest flaw has always been your short-sightedness. This is only a test run, Rex. The endgame will be much more monstrous."

"Too bad all your work is gonna amount to a big nothing," Rex said.

"Your overconfidence never ceases to amuse me. Unfortunately I'm not here to play. And it appears you have your hands full," Van Kleiss said backing away with a sick smile.

"Any time you wanna jump in robot boy," Kevin said called. Rex stood frozen in place, deciding between helping his friends and stopping his enemy. Zak's golden energy came from the EVO in waves now, causing the floor to crack under their feet. The EVO swung its tail, and smacked Kevin in the chest sending him sailing through the air. Rex made a decision, built his punk busters, jumped up and caught Kevin.

"Kevin, listen to me," Rex said gently setting him down. "If something happens to me, get to my communicator."

In a flash of green light ben shouted "wildvine!" And plants launched from the ground wrapping around zaks feet like chains. Gwen followed suit,ripping pipes from the ground with her mana and wrapping them around zaks body pinning him down. The evo swung its giant head and snapped at ben who narrowly avoided its large fangs. Rook shot a bola, muzzling the EVO. A shockwave of gold energy rolled over them, and the six cat EVOs seemed to be stirring in response.

"Why? What are you gonna do?" Kevin asked Rex.

"Something stupid," He replied and then pulled his goggles over his eyes. He built his boogie pack, and lifted into the air. As he landed on the EVO's back he placed his gloved hands firmly against its scales.

He took a deep breath and activated his nanites. Blue circuits of light moved down his arm and onto Zak as the corrupted nanites were removed. Immediately Rex felt himself losing control as he took on Zak's nanites. Bits of metal began to bulge and and protrude from his skin on his arms as the excess nanites activated of their own accord. "Ok Rex keep it together" he muttered to himself.

"It's working!" Gwen said as she and Rook watched in awe. Soon the dragon like form had shrunk down to reveal Zak's lithe figure and orange uniform. The scales retracted into honey colored skin, and red eyes returned to a golden brown. Zak sat up holding his head in a daze, his black and white hair slightly disheveled.

"What happened?" He asked. Gwen knelt next to Zak.

"I don't sense any injuries," she said. Her eyes widened and she turned to Rex who gasped and swayed slightly. "Hey, are you ok?"

"I'm fi- AH!" He let out a yelp as rogue nanites erupted from his body. Rexs hands twisted and buldged oddly and his body shook as some seizure took over. He wrapped his arms around him middle and closed his eyes trying to regain control.

"Whats happening?" Wildvine asked reaching towards Rex. Metal cords burst out of Rex, cementing into the ground and latching onto the glowing omnitrix symbol on bens chest. there was a bright shock of red and green light, then Ben ripped out of its grasp in alarm, transformed abruptly back to human and stumbled away.

"Too many… Nanites," Rex choked out falling to his knees. "Can't…control-." He let out a cry. The machines in the lab sparked and whirred and the lights flickered. Kevins eyes widened and he ran purposefully towards the exit.

In the hall he saw Van Kleiss and some EVOs walking in the opposite direction. Van Kleiss smiled and waved mockingly then disappeared down the hall. Kevin growled but let them get away, focused on his mission.

"What do we do?" Gwen asked back In the lab. Rex could only scream in response. Ben looked down at his omnitrix which blinked and chirped an angry warning.

"What now?" He said to the watch.

"Ben..." Gwen called nervously looking around at the other evos. Some had stood up; shaking their large heads as if to clear their minds and growled.

Ben watched transfixed as red electricity sparked from the omnitrix washing his face with Red light. Fear crept through his body as he recognized the energy.

"Ben!" Gwen said again more urgently.

Zak grabbed the claw, making a feeble effort to connect with the evos. his powers flared for a moment, then seemed to burst and die out, sending Zak to his knees. Rook met him at his side, cocking the proto-tool.

"Gwen!" Kevin yelled bursting back into the room. He tossed rexs communicator to Gwen who caught it and put it to her ear.

Rex struggled for control over his body, pitching backwards as more protrusions exploded from his chest. The omnitrix sparked with red light and shocked Ben. "OW!"

"Is this providence?" Gwen asked the communicator. "We need help. Somethings happening to-"

"We know." Said a woman's urgent voice. "Listen carefully..."

After a moment Gwen ran forward her voice echoing with magic, "SOMNUS." The spell hit Rex and he went limp, the excess nanites retracting into his body.

Kevin looked at her. "What did you-?"

"I put him to sleep. She said it should buy us some time, but we have to leave now."

"Leaving is good," Zak said as he and rook kept back the circling EVOs.

"Go!" Gwen yelled climbing up tiles of mana until she was high above them. Zak and Rook ran towards the door.

"Impetus Adfishio Potentia!" Gwen's whole body glowed with light as she spoke the spell. the floor below the EVOs rumbled and then erupted with pink mana walls, knocking the EVOs in every direction. Kevin lifted Rex off the ground and ran from the lab, followed by Zak.

"Move!" Rook said grabbing Bens arm and dragged him along.

The team ran from the building as the lab erupted, Gwen flew out on a platform of mana.

"Let's go. We need to get back to HQ before-" Gwen was interrupted by a winged creature blowing past her. It rammed into Zak and lifted him into the sky. He cried out in fear as he was dangled by his ankle, and looked up to see who his captor was.

"We have unfinished business little Saturday," Said the creature. Zak gasped when he realized it was Argost.

Zak whacked Argost with the claw.

"Let go of me you overgrown science experiment!"

"Very well!" Argost said lifting him high above the building tops and dropping him suddenly. Zak yelled as he plummeted.

"Good time for an alien Tennyson!" Kevin said as they watched Zak fall.

"I'm-trying" Ben said but the omnitrix sparked and ignored his commands. Zak twisted in the air and shot the claw like a grapple catching himself on a building. The piece of building broke off only succeeding in slowing him down. The ground was rapidly approaching.

"Ahh!!!!"

Another large figure raced past them and jumped into the air, catching Zak.

"Fisk?" Zak said as the gorilla-cat set him gently on the ground. "What are you doing here?"

Fisk made a series of confused noises.

"What do you mean?" Zak asked.

"Uh not all of us speak gorilla," Kevin said.

"He says... he says I called him here. Or kur did."

"Tennyson if you don't quit with that watch I'm gonna slap you," Kevin said. Ben, who hadn't stopped fidling with the omnitrix, looked up.

"It's not working!" Ben said.

"Somethings wrong," zak said.

"I know. It's completely fried..."

"Not that. There are cryptids everywhere."

"Do you sense them little kur?" Said Argost from overhead, "the cryptids respond to you call."

Zak looked around. He couldn't see them but he knew there were dozens of cryptids all around. "But I didn't-"

"No. I did," spoke the unmistakable voice of malware. Bens skin crawled and he touched the omnitrix dial again.

"What is this the villain convention? Your all working together now?" Ben asked.

"So your the one controlling the cryptids," Gwen said to Malware.

"They must have used your power when you were under Malwares influence," Rook said to Zak.

"Imagine a cryptid army, armored with nanites, and under a control so complete not even kur could challenge it. And you've delivered the cryptids right to us." Argost mused.

"You really want to do this, Argost? You're outnumbered." Zak said.

"Not for long."

A storm drain grate shifted off the ground, and the small head of a familiar bunyip peaked out. It sniffed the air and ran to rook looking to get another bite out of his proto tool.

"No! Get out of here, it's a trap!" Malware intercepted the cryptid. The cryptid snapped at the air as malware grabbed hold and sent nanites into its body. The bunyip tripled in size and turned on them eyes glowing.

"That's new," Ben said. Rex tensed and groaned in Kevin's arms as his nanites shocked him.

"Guys we don't have time for this. We have to get Rex to Providence," Gwen said.

Argost, Malware and the EVO moved in to attack, "You aren't going anywhere."


	9. Chapter 8: Heroes and Heartbeats

Ben spun the dial on his watch and to his surprise it responded.

"Here goes nothing," he slammed on the dial, which sputtered for a moment and then transformed him. "How 'bout a little Feedback!" He called and engaged Malware.

"I destroyed that alien once. Don't think I won't do it again," Malware said.

"Go ahead and try!"

Fist and rook intercepted Argost as he lunged for Zak. Gwen stood her ground as the EVO charged, shielding Kevin nd Rex.

Another cryptic appeared from above and Zak swatted at it.

"No I don't want you here!" He said.

"Another able body?" Malware said.

"Leave it alone. Cryptids aren't slaves!" Zak said. Malware deflected Bens energy attack and reached for the flying cryptic catching it by the leg. Zak swung the claw at hum, but he caught it and hit Zak with a beam of energy from his eye.

"No!" Zak cried as the second cryptic went EVO. Ben blasted a piece of concrete from the ground and chucked it at Malware hitting him dead on.

"We'll be outnumbered if he gets hold of more cryptids!" Feedback said.

"If I called them here then I can send them back," Zak said, eyes glowing gold and claw pointed towards the sky. But the EVO tackled him to the ground disrupting the message.

"Zak!" Ben called before abruptly timing out. He slammed on the dial but it sparked with red light and went black.

"Stupid Watch!" Malware stalked towards him. Ben glanced around at his friends; Kevin now fended off the first EVO desperately defending Gwen and Rex who now both lay unconscious on the ground. Fisk and Rook fought Argost, though the odds still seemed out of their favor, Zak was fighting for influence over the second EVO. Rex cried out and tensed as he was shocked by his nanites, blue circuits sparking down his face and neck. The light in the lamp post above him exploded, showering Ben with glass.

Malware grabbed Ben around the middle and pulled him towards him. Ben turned the dial but the omnitrix remained dark and unresponsive.

"The Omnitrix has failed you. But what did you expect form Azmuths creation?"

"I think we've established Azmuth doesn't always get his creation right." Ben mocked. He kicked and struggled to no avail when suddenly Malware was blasted by a wave of piercing sound and dropped Ben to the ground. He desperately clamped his hands over his ears until the noise died down, and looked up toes a girl with black and red hair standing there holding out a hand for him.

"You're a friend of Rex?" She asked. He nodded.

"I'm Ben. Who are you?"

"Circe"

"You're Circe? We've been looking for you."

"Listen!" Im here to warn you. Van Kleiss is planning to unleash active nanites on the city. We've got to stop him. Where's Rex?"

She and Ben ran to where Gwen and Kevin were shielding Rex. He lay on the ground not moving.

"What happened?" Circe asked. A pink call of energy blasted between Crice and Rex. Gwen stood on a platform of mana, eyes glowing. "That was your only warning. Get away from him or next time I won't miss," She said.

"Gwen what are you doing?" Ben asked.

She's with them, Ben. She's the reason we got ambushed back at the tower," Gwen said her glowing hands lifted defensively. Bens gaze shifted between the two girls. Circe lifted her palms to show surrender.

"I came back to help. Van Kleiss has a weapon- a nanite reactor. He's going to do to Bellwood what he caused in our world." Circe said.

"Why should we believe anything you say?"

"I never wanted to hurt anybody, especially Rex. But you can help me stop this," she said. Gwen and Ben looked shared a look.

"Please," Circe begged, "You have to believe me. We don't have much time.

Gwen nodded at Ben. "Show us where."

Zak struggled with Malwares influence over the cryptids, grunting with the effort. Malware growled in annoyance as he fought Zak for control.

"Insolent human" malware shrieked back handing Zack across the face."I told you…" Zak said his whole body burned with light as he wiped blood from his mouth. He pointed at Malware and the EVOs simultaneously charged at the alien, "Cryptids aren't your slaves."

Now outnumbered Argost and malware retreated. Zak sank to his knees exhausted and tried to calm the Cryptids.

"It's okay you're safe now," Zak said as the EVO sniffed and nuzzled his face. Fisk knelt next to him patting his head.

"Fights not over yet kid," Kevin said

The team followed Circe as she directed them to Van Kleiss back into Billions Tower.

"isn't this the place we just escaped?" Zak said out of breath.

"Hurry!" Circe said running inside.

They busted into a great room a large machine was in the center glowing an angry red color. An alarm was blaring. Malware and Argost had beaten them there and they stood with Van Kleiss seemingly arguing.

"This wasn't part of the plan," Argost said.

"We decided to change the plans," Van Kleiss said. The alarm was calling out a count down.

 _3 minutes 30 seconds until reactor meltdown._

"When that timer hits 0 the reactor will explode. There's enough nanites in there to turn miles of Bellwood into EVOs," Circe said.

"There's dozens of Cryptids in the city now too," Zak said.

"You sayin' they'd have a whole army of these things?" Kevin asked.

"We must stop that countdown!" Rook said.

"On it!" Said been turning into jury rig. Zack blinked at the small gremlin like transformation in confusion.

"How's that thing going to help?"

"Like this! Break, Break, break!" He cried crawling up the machine and bricked metal and machinery away. The countdown stalled with a minute to spare and Zach smiled.

"Keep it up Ben!" He said turning his attention to the three villains.

Circe blasted up Biowolf with her song. She and Kevin took cover, supporting Rex between them. Gwen shot energy at Skalamander.

"Munya, I do believe its time for a swift exit," Argost said lazily.

"And where do you think you're going?" Van Kleiss asked.

"It's time I said adieu to this alliance," Argost said as he and Munya fled the room, "Another time little Saturday."

"Let them go," Malware said. "His support will be inconsequential in a matter of minutes." Rooks photo-tool morphed into a blade and he and Zak parried with Van Kleiss. Malware turned and extended a hand towards the machine. Jurryrig cackled magically as he ripped into the wiring.

"Break! Break, Break- oof" Malware grabbed Juryrig and squeezed the small alien. Juryrig chomped on his hand. Malware growled in annoyance and dropped the gremlin.

"No EVOs for you here," giggled Juryrigg.

"Incorrect," Malware said looking in the direction of Kevin and Circe. "There is one."

Circe kneeled protectively next tot Rex, holding his hand. Kevin watched the fighting anxiously, keeping a close eye on Gwen.

"Do you know whats wrong with him?" He asked Circe, glancing at Rex.

"I know when he cures EVOs he takes nannies into his system. When there's too many he loses control and overloads. But I don't know how to fix it."

"Helpful," Kevin muttered. Rex stirred from unconsciousness and groaned.

"I think he's waking up," Circe said. His eyes blinked open glowing with red light, "Rex?" It was like he couldn't hear her. He stood up, ignoring Kevin and Circe's protests, his hand slipping out of her grasp. He walked fixedly towards Malware, in a trance.

Juryrig hopped around avoiding Malwares pounding fists like whack-a-mole.

"Can't catch me!" Juryrig cackled. His smile faded when Malware laughed.

"Perhaps you're right. I never was able to take the omnitrix from you…" The mecamorph said.

"Huh?" Ben squeaked before bumping into something. He looked up in surprise as Rex reached towards him, grabbing the gremlin around the middle.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He asked, the scratchy voice of his alien asked shrilly.

"The plumber files I stole from your ship were quite enlightening. Apparently nanites like the Alpha and omega have been found to be one of the omnitrix's weaknesses. Isn't that right Tennyson?"

"I knew those plumber records are too thorough," Ben mumbled.

"Yes quite thorough. And all too simple to access. I learned all I needed to about technology from another Earth, capable of dismantling Azmuths greatest creation with a simple command. And here is this boy, with all the power to destroy you, delivered to me on a silver platter," Malwares voice said with a haunting laugh. He sent tendrils into the reactor, putting the pieces back together. The countdown started up again.

 _One minute until total reactor Meltdown._

Rex seized the omnitrix symbol on the gremlins chest forcing energy into it that made it spark dangerously. There was a flash of red, a dissonant sound of code error, and Bens form shifted painfully back to human.

"How-?" Ben asked looking down at himself. The omnitrix blinked angrily in recharge mode.

"I refuse to live in the shadow of the omnitrix any longer. I will be rid of this cursed creation," Malware said.

Rex lifted Bens arm towards him, sending circuits into the omnitrix.

"Rex snap out of it!" He said pulling at his arm, but Rex held him fast. Ben was overwhelmed by the sheer strength of this boy-his friend. But when he looked in Rex's eyes and saw only Malware.

"Destroy it!" Malware cried. Rex obeyed.

 _30 Seconds._

The omnitrix sparked and sputtered as it was corrupted by nanites. Ben felt like his wrist was being ripped from his body. The light and electricity built up, bathing the room in crimson light until he had to shield his eyes. A blast finally ripped the two boys apart.

Around them the fighting was halted as everyone was knocked back by the blast. Rook recovered first, shouted Ben's name and ran to his partner.

 _20 Seconds._

Ben didn't hear him over the ringing in his ears. His vision was blurry and he realized it was because tears were streaming down his face. He looked down at his wrist, and the charred remains of the omnitrix fell away, leaving bare skin.

"I'm fine! Stop the countdown!" He said.

 _10 Seconds._

"Gwen!" Kevin called.

 _Nine._

Circe turned toward the machine blasting it with her song.

 _Eight._

Rex stood up and grabbed her arm.

 _Seven._

Circe looked at his red eyes, "Stop it Rex. This isn't you!"

 _Six._

Gwen held her glowing hands towards him, "Somnus!" His grip on Circe loosened and he slipped to the ground unconscious.

 _Five._

Gwen and Circe turned towards the machine, and blasted it together. The machine sputtered but Malware's circuits flooded over the damaged area.

 _Four..._

"That's quite enough," Van Kleiss said. The girls turned towards him.

 _Three._

He held Zak fast, his arm twisted behind his back painfully. Van Kleiss's claws from his metal arm were pressed against Zak's throat. The girls glared at the villain.

"Forget me! Stop the reactor!" Zak said. They hesitated. Van Kleiss smiled.

 _Two_

"Times up"

 _One_

"NO!"

x

Gwen barely had time to shield them from the blast. The ceiling was blown from the building. The streets were filled with wind as a shock wave was sent through the city, breaking the glass on buildings as a mushroom cloud of nanites rocketed from the tower. Civilians heard the sound and peered into the tempest. A red cloud hurtled towards them like smoke or fog, but more alive. There was screaming in the streets as Bellwood panicked and ran but the cloud caught them, mutating anyone it touched. When the dust settled, Malware, Van Kleiss and their lacked were nowhere to be found. Kevin looked at Ben

Who was stunned into silence.

"Did we just… lose?"

Their saviors came from the sky. A small plumber ship hovered over the building. No not a plumber ship, where had Ben seen it before? A side door opened and a platform came down. A monkey wearing a uniform walked toward them seeming unfazed by the red cloud of nannies that swirled around them. Ben recognized the monkey.

"Bobo?"

"Hey alien kid, remember me? We're here to help," said Bobo.

"Talking monkey…" Kevin said.

Gwen managed to get them all in the ship without exposing them to nanites. When the door sealed a man with sunglasses and a a green suit and a pretty woman in mission clothes ushered them in.

Doctor Holiday," Ben said. She took them in quickly, her eyes finally landing on Rex.

"Bring him over here," she said. The man in green helped Kevin lay Rex on the lab table.

"How did you all get here?" Ben asked.

"Explanations can wait." Six said.

"Can you help him?" Circe asked.

"I think so. But theres not much I can do from in here, he's too unstable," Holiday said.

"Our base is on the other side of town," Gwen offered.

"Caesar, get this ship in the air!" Holiday called. She put an affectionate hand on Rex's forehead and bit her lip. "We don't have much time."


	10. Chapter 9: Warfare and Willpower

Van Kleiss bristled anxiously. This monster, this alien, this thing had come from nowhere and taken over, used all of Van Kleiss' resources, sabotaged his association with the V.V. Argost. Where did that leave him? Van Kleiss knew better than to expect this uneasy alliance to last. But one thing was certain. If the alien hadn't cast him aside already it was because he needed something. If Van Kleiss played his cards right, he could… he would come out on top. His gears continued to turn as he watched the mechamorph.

"We have arrived at a crossroads, organic," Malware said.

"Should I assume our paths will diverge?" Van Kliegs kept his voice measured but his body tensed. Malware studied him for a moment.

"I see no reason we can't part with civility. I know what it is you want and you can have it, but I will be taking my leave," He said. Van Kleiss bristled at this and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"But we've defeated our greatest enemies. The earth is yours for the taking, what could be of greater importance?"

"You humans have an over inflated sense of self-worth. The earth is nothing to me, your race is inferior. I may have disarmed the omnitrix bearer but my greatest enemy is still out there. And there is nothing keeping me from taking my revenge."

"So you will relinquish control of the city to me?" Van Kleiss asked. Malware laughed.

"The city. The world. Take it. There is something I want in return," He said. There it was, the catch. Van Kleiss smiled at his good fortune. Malware held a taloned hand out, and from his palm rippled. A small charge of green electricity flashed as a piece of machine erupted from the aliens liquid-like flesh. He held it out for the man to take.

"The omnitrix core. Help me build a new omnitrix with this, and the city and all of the EVOs are yours"

"What will you do?" Van Kleiss asked, not because he particularly cared, but because he'd learned to cover all this bases when dealing with Rex and his allies. After a few drawn out moments the alien spoke.

"Now that I've conquered this world, I will return to Galvan B and Galvan Prime and perfect the planets as Azmuth was never able to. And once my brethren have joined me, I will spread my influence across all the universe."

Van Kleiss barely understood but it hardly mattered.

"You've got a deal."

...

"... get this device running now."

"It's done Caesar. It's working!"

 _A bright light_

 _"C'mon Rex... stay with us.."_

 _Dark figures stand above him. Who are they? He should know._

 _Their hands reaching. Reaching for him._

 _But they're too far away._

 _And he's falling._

 _Falling._

 _..._

Zak sat with Fisk and Komodo watching his parents work. He had changed out of his usual mission uniform, and donned a black and orange t-shirt with bright yellow pants, making him look younger. He played with his hair nervously, eventually settling on pulling most of it back into a small ponytail.

"Mom. Dad? There's something you should know," Zak started. He looked at Fisk who made a sound of encouragement.

"Oh boy. What did you boys break this time?" Drew asked pulling her eyes away from a microscope. Fisk made an offended noise and crossed his arms.

"Alright I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume. So sensitive...," she said. Zak looked away and his parents shared a glance.

Ben sat on the floor outside the lab where Rex was being treated. He stared at the ground, hood up and hands in his front pocket of his hoodie where he cradled the remains of the omnitrix. A soft red emergency light illuminated the hall the otherwise dark hall. The power had been fluxing in and out for a few hours. Holiday had explained briefly that it was Rex's rouge powers causing the surges, so Ben took the long spell of darkness as a sign that they weren't in the clear yet.

Anger burned in his chest. He had failed. Malware had bested him again. His city suffered under malwares control and he was useless to help. Grandpa max and the saturdays were trying to figure out what was happening in the city, but no one knew how to deal with EVOs on this scale. Miles of Bellwood had been infected. So Ben waited for the experts, Rex and his team.

Someone walked up to his side and slid down the wall to sit next to him. Ben knew it was Gwen without looking, having heard the unmistakable click of her shoes on the ground when she approached.

"Nothing yet. They're afraid the nanites could still affect us if we leave the base," She said. Ben didn't say anything. Even if they did send a team out, without the omnitrix he knew he would only get in the way.

"Maybe Azmuth can fix it..." she said softly. The omnitrix. He had figured that was the real reason she had come to find him. His hand clenched around the broken parts in his pocket.

"Yeah, maybe."

...

"Zak... is this about your powers?" Solomon asked.

Zak looked up in surprise, "How did you…" They smiled at him and his jaw dropped, "you knew this whole time?"

"Zak, sweetie, You've never been the most convincing liar" Drew said. Zak stared at them, "-and Fisk might have mentioned something," Drew added quickly.

"You tattled?!" Zak said with mock horror. Fisk squealed in shock looking between his parents and Zak.

"Blabber mouth. This is payback for telling dad you ate the last of his favorite zucchini dish isn't it?" Zak said.

"Zak, you're old enough now to make your own decisions and we wanted to let you tell us when you were ready. I know this kur stuff has always been pretty hard on you," Solomon said.

"I'm scared. I don't want it to be like last time. What if the nagas find out or the secret scientists or-"

"-Then we'll deal with it like we always do," Drew said with a smile.

...

"You know the watch was never what made you special. You're the hero with or without it," Gwen said.

"It's not about that. I let Malware get in my head. I felt like a scared little kid again," Ben said.

"It's ok to be scared."

"Not if it gets in the way. I failed just like feedback said in my dream. I failed the whole city."

"You're dream? Are you having nightmares again?"

"Is it a nightmare if it's real?" He asked her. Gwen rested her head on her cousins shoulder and they sat in silence for a moment.

...

"I'm sorry I kept it a secret this long," Zak said giving his parents a hug.

"Of course we forgive you baby," she said kissing his head, "But don't think you're getting away that easy. After this plumber business is done your grounded."

"Aw for how long?" Zak asked.

"Two weeks," his parents said in unison.

"No tv, no phone, no missions." Solomon said. Fisk giggled behind his hand and Zak glared at him.

"Yeah keep laughing. I'll be spending those two weeks planning my revenge on you for snitching," Zak said to Fisk with a mischievous smile. Fisk made sounds of protest and he looked at his parents, pointing at Zak. Drew shrugged.

"Well you did tattle," she said to Fisk.

"Drew!" Solomon scolded.

...

 _Alert. Alert. Foreign nanite protocol engaged._

 _Rex squints into a bright blue light._

 _The omega nanite is glowing erratically, working in a frenzy. The meta nanites are peaceful and silent..._

 _His omega chirps at him._

 _"Whats wrong?" He asks._

 _Alert! Alert! Breach imminent!_

 _"What does that mean?"_

 _Red and black light creeps towards him, towards his nanites, glitching and sputtering and corrupting his nanite codes. Rex turns towards it. It feels threatening. It feels wrong._

 _"What are you?" He asks it._

 _It senses his power, it reaches for him surging and gurgling and sparking. No! Blue walls and circuits burst from the floor, from the ceiling, cutting off the red and black tendrils._

 _"Stay away!" Rex seals himself off, his nanites frantically beeping in alarm, warning him of the danger. Its only a matter of time before the red virus breaks through._

 _..._

The lights in base switched on with a loud whir as the generators began running again. Gwen looked at Ben.

"Think that's a good sign?" She asked.

"Why don't we find out," Ben said pulling his hood off.

"Ey. Alien food is officially worse than bananas," Bobo said walking down the hall with Kevin to where Ben and Gwen sat outside the lab.

"This monkey is hilarious, why don't we have one?" Kevin said.

Ben smirked. "'Cause we already have you kev."

"Ha. ha," Kevin said with mock laughter and then flicked ben on the forehead. Ben gave him an evil grin and pounced on the taller boy.

Gwen scoffed at Ben and Kevin who were now roughhousing on the floor with Bobo as referee, stepping out of way of the wrestling boys.

"Ow ow okay okay!" Ben whined. Kevin had pinned him to the ground easily and smirked at his victory. Ben stood up when Kevin released him and pouted. Ben mumbled something about cheating and Kevin high-fived the monkey.

"Let's just go see if Rex is awake," Gwen said.

Just then, the door of the lab slid open and a tired looking Doctor Holiday stepped into the hall. She noticed the group of teens and the monkey and stood up a little straighter.

"Oh, you're all here," she said.

"How is he?" Ben asked. Holiday cleared h

"Well the good news is he's alive. And he's been through worse," she said.

"And the bad news?" Asked Kevin. She gestured for them to come in. On one side of the room Rex was asleep on a hospital bed. He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and his usually sleek hair was disheveled from being unconscious. A heart monitor beeped softly in the corner. But Holiday drew their attention to the other half of the lab. Two men stood talking in hushed tones with the Galvan plumbers Blukic and Driba. Ben recognized the long legged man in green as agent six. The other man, writing furiously on scrap paper was unmistakably Caesar, Rex's older brother. He looked very much like Rex save for the reckless nature of his hair and the slightly robotic look in his eyes. They gathered around the equipment the galvans were gesturing to, something Ben assumed was a microscope and a computer which displayed a numeric code.

"This is normal nanite code," Holiday said pointing to the 0's and 1's that passed through the screen. "This," she said clicking another screen, "is Rex's current nanite code." Ben didn't understand the code, but he knew enough to see that what he was looking at wasn't normal. It seemed like nothing at first, but then the gaps in the columns of lines became noticeable. Numbers missing, blinking, changing before their eyes. The code altered from a pattern of 0s and 1s to a ramble of numbers, sometimes letters. Incoherent symbols flashed and spasmed on the screen

"Exactly. Thats the problem," Said Driba

"No it isn't," Blukic countered. Doctor holiday looked concerned.

"The problem is the nanites we sampled from Rex's extraction. There's something wrong." She said, crossing to the computer and pulling up digital scans. Two images appeared on the screen, one containing normal blue nanites. The other image showed something different, nanites that curled with red and black light. Protrusions adorned them like spikes making them resemble sea urchins.

"Gross. What is that?" Gwen asked.

"We know what it is," Blukic said.

"We do not!" Driba said stubbornly.

"Yes we do!" Blukic said.

"It's malware," Ben said from

"What he said," the glavans said in unison.

"It's a computer virus?" Six asked leaning cooly against the wall.

"Not exactly. Malware is a defective galvanic mechamorph," Gwen said.

"Same species as my alien Upgrade," Ben added, "He has a grudge against me and his creator Azmuth, who also created the Omnitrix."

"He's the one controlling the EVOs which means headaches for us," Kevin said.

"This is good," Caesar said. They all looked at him in surprise.

"Care to explain what you're thinking or do you want us to guess?" Holiday asked a bit sharply. Ben surveyed the three adults again taking in their weary faces and rumpled attire. It was hard to say what Six was thinking but ben thought he was frowning more intensely than usual.

"Nanites have always been dangerous because they're unstable and unpredictable," Caesar said frowning at her before quickly adopted his usual analytical tone, "In order for them to function properly they need a command unit. But if there's already someone controlling them, then it's not about getting rid of the nanites..." he said.

"It's about outsmarting whoever's in charge," Ben finished for him.

"I don't understand. I thought you said the extraction worked. So what's wrong with Rex?" Gwen asked.

"The extraction did work," Caesar said, "but the nanites Van Kleiss created are corrupted with this... Malware as you say, and it's acting like a virus.

"Whatever or whoever this Malware is it's smart. Somehow he was able to take control of Rex's system," Caesar said looking over the data, "His nanites are currently at war with Malware's and if we don't stop it at its source, there could be irreversible damage."

"Right, but with everything thats happened how exactly are we supposed to fight him? Magic won't put a dent in him, and I doubt robot boy will be curing any EVOs," Kevin said. Just then the door opened and Zak entered holding a soda can. Inspiration quickly filled Bens head.

"Behold Kevin!" Ben said draping an arm around Zak's shoulders and plucking the soda from his hand.

"Hey, thats for Rex," Zak said.

"Our best defense against Malware just walked through the door!" Ben popped the soda cap and took a swig. "Ah soda. The beverage of smoothie haters."

"Wait me? You think I can stop Malware?" Zak said. Gwen gave him a thoughtful look.

"You don't have to stop him. Just limit his influence. The cryptids still respond to you even after they've gone EVO," she said.

"Is that so?" Caesar said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. He muttered something in Spanish under his breath an bent to pick up a stray paper that had slipped beneath the desk.

"Yeah well no ones beating anybody if we can't even walk outside," Kevin said.

"Oh!" Caesar cried bumping his head on the top of the desk and standing quickly, "We've been working on something to remedy that," he said rubbing his head,"Blukic?"

Zak leaned towards Ben and spoke quietly, "Uh, is Rex's brother a little..." he stopped searching for a word.

"Wacko?" Ben offered stifling a laugh.

"I was gonna say eccentric."

Blukic and Driba wheeled a mannequin mold forward. It displayed a simple grey body suit and helmet that resembled a deep divers suit. "In conditions like this I suspect only EVOs like Rex and Bobo would be safe to walk around in the nanite cloud, so we designed the suits to keep the nanites out," he said.

"A little klunky," Kevin said passively poking the rubbery exterior of the suit.

"It's only a prototype, the real ones will be much more maneuverable," Caesar said confidently.

"Time is of the essence if we're going to stop that thing. We don't know how much longer Rex has. How many can you make by tomorrow?" Six asked.

"A dozen," Driba said.

"A dozen? We barely finished the prototype! Thats impossible," Blukic said.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"We'll aim for a dozen," Caesar said, hands already flying over his tools. He stopped suddenly like he'd remembered something and turned to Zak. "Before I forget, I'd like to consult the crypto-zoologists on the function of the nanites."

"I'll see if my parents can help," Zak offered.

People buzzed in different directions, suddenly filled with new purpose. Ben felt the weight of his uselessness settle on him again as the room emptied. He crossed the room to check on Rex, who slept fitfully. The boy muttered and whimpered softly in his sleep. Ben placed a hand on his arm to calm him.

"Hang in there," he said.

..

Later in the night, Ben roamed the quiet halls of HQ searching for a snack machine.

He had tossed and turned in bed all night before finally deciding to find and bother someone to appease his boredom. Rook was busy and got Ben to leave him alone by giving him a nerd rant about science that he barely understood. Gwen and Kevin were arguing over something uninteresting, only acknowledging his presence to ask him to pick a side. Zak was fast asleep which normally wouldn't have stopped Ben but he glanced wearily at the gorilla cat cuddled protectively around Zak and decided not to poke the sleeping giant. Everyone was either sleeping or busy, busy with the suits, busy with the nanites, busy being useful. That had left him wandering around looking for something to do, desperately wanting to help but uncertain of how when he heard a harsh voice call him name.

"Ben Tennyson!"

Ben jumped and turned in time to see Azmuth materialize from a beam of light.

"Hey Azmuth," Ben said sighing slightly. Azmuth wasn't his first choice of entertainment but-

"'Hey?' I waste my precious time to travel halfway cross the galaxy after you destroy my omnitrix again, and all you have to say is 'hey'?"

"Um. Would you prefer a 'what's up?'" He asked looking down at the angry alien.

"I would prefer you not break my highly advanced technology like a toddler with a plastic toy!"

"... what about a 'how's it going?'" Ben mused.

"TENNYSON!"

"Look I'm sorry okay? It wasn't my fault. Malware-"

"Malware? I should have known he was involved. His incompetence only slightly outdoes your own."

"I hope your here to tell me you can fix the watch and not just to yell at me," Ben said folding his arms. He had been expecting this reprimand.

"You think I can snap my fingers and a new omnitrix would appear on your wrist?"

"Uh Yeah? That's kinda what happened last time."

"Well you're mistaken! It took me years to build that omnitrix! And it will likely take years to replace it."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Said a jolly voice with an unmistakable accent. Paradox appeared behind Ben causally as if he had been there all along. Ben's heart leapt with excitement, and then sunk with apprehension. If Paradox was here, then matters were about to get more... interesting.

"Paradox! What are you- You mean you can fix my omnitrix?"

"My omnitrix," Azmuth corrected. Ben rolled his eyes.

"Not fix no. I'm afraid that omnitrix is quite gone," Paradox said.

"Aw I barely even got to use it.." Ben grumbled.

"Maybe if your weren't so irresponsible-" started Azmuth.

"Hate to interrupt this scolding, Azmuth, but time is of the essence. I cannot fix the old omnitrix but I can provide you with a new one." Paradox said nodding towards Bens wrist. He looked down in surprise to find a sleek green cuff strapped to not one but both of his wrists. A black "x" crossed the front of either cuff, and glinted in the light as he twisted his hands to get a better look.

"Call it a late birthday present. Or is it early? Time travel makes it terribly hard to keep track," Paradox said looking down at his pocket-watch.

"It looks like the gauntlets future-me uses," Ben said.

"Indeed. This dual-omnitrix, if you will, has the power to sample two codes of alien dna and cross them into a single being."

"Sweet!"

"Paradox, Those gauntlets are highly experimental. I've never gotten it to work." Azmuth said.

"Actually you have. Or will have had. And this will have been the finished product. Ben will need the powers of this omnitrix to defeat his enemies in the coming battle."

"How do I use them?" Ben asked, prodding the surface and finding no dials on the cuffs.

"I haven't the foggiest," Paradox said cheerily. Ben turned to Azmuth.

"Don't look at me," the alien said, "I haven't even finished inventing them yet."

"From what I understand," Paradox said only to Ben, "Azmuth will have a little inspiration from your alter-dimensional friends. I don't believe you'll have trouble with nanite corruption again."

"So, how come you could give me these but not the old omnitrix?"

"I'm afraid even my power is limited to some extent. You see although I am a time walker I am bound to the realities of this universe because it is the one in which I was created. I couldn't, for example, waltz into your friend Rex's time stream because, although parallel, our universes are inherently different. I have never existed there and therefore never could."

"Say what now?"

"Remember Ben, time and space are like a tree. This timeline is the trunk, and all the other possibilities exist within the branches. Rex's universe is the next tree over which is why travel between the two is a rather cataclysmic endeavor, one I myself am incapable of without irreparable consequences, a result of my abilities being derivative of this realities main timeline. I may move among the branches and the very farthest leaves, but I cannot simply hop from one tree to another."

"Yes, I'm sure we're all thankful a squirrel wasn't sucked into the time stream in your stead, Paradox," Azmuth said testily.

"So what does that have to do with the omnitrix?" Ben said impatiently.

"I'm afraid the problem lies within the technicality of whom exactly did the destroying of said omnitrix. Although under Malware's influence, it was by Rex's hands that the omnitrix was destroyed. And because I cannot interfere with his reality, past-present-or-future, I cannot bring back your omnitrix. In fact I'm bending the rules being here even now-

"Enough science theory for today. I'm afraid the real reason I'm here is much more severe than simply restoring the omnitrix. You see, as I mentioned previously, crossing the threshold of two separate realities is calamitous to the time stream, and as of recently that divide has been crossed excessively."

"What are you saying?" Ben asked.

"I'm afraid the line between this reality and the next is becoming blurred. If you or Rex continue to cross into each others worlds at the rate which has been occurring, the result would be catastrophic. It is imperative that all of our alterdimensional visitors be returned to their own time stream and quickly." Paradox let his words sink in and then went to check his watch again, "I'm afraid my time is up. Shall we?" Paradox said turning to Azmuth, "Try not to destroy reality!" Ben looked down at his wrists and marveled at the cuffs, and when he looked up again both the alien and the time walker had vanished. This was great… no it was everything! He had the omnitrix back. He could help his friends, he could stop the bad guys, he could-

"Oh! One last thing," Paradox said reappearing behind him. Ben nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Be warned Benjamin, because of Rex and Van Kleiss's close ties with the ensuing battle, I will have little to no influence over what occurs. Whatever happens here could permanently alter your timeline. If you were to fail... know that there would be no do-overs."

Ben gulped, "No pressure, right?"

"That's the spirit! Ta-ta!" Paradox said before vanishing for a second time. Paradox's words raced through Ben's head. The result of this battle could alter the timeline? How would Ben know which events would alter it? He knew one thing for sure. They had to get Van Kleiss back to his own reality or it could mean the destruction of both worlds. But… what about Rex? Would Ben never be able to see his friend again? Ben pushed that thought from his mind, frustrated at how vague the time walker had been. But one thought kept gnawing at him. Bens heart raced and he ran from the room, suddenly sure of what he needed to do.

...

 _Whispers. His nanites speak but he can't hear them, catches only pieces of their words. He sits against the walls he'd built, listening to the dull thud of the virus as it fights to get in._

 _Trapped. Rex glances wearily at his omega. It had calmed some since he'd walled them in but every now and then when the exhaustion set in and Rex became careless it would blink and shiver in alarm._

 _"You're no help," he says to it. It does not respond. Rex feels tired, sending all his mental strength to hold his barriers, feeling them slowly chipping away. He'll die here he thinks. He wishes he knew where here is. Maybe he could rest his eyes..._

 _..._

 _A/N:_ I know its been a while but I'm still writing this! please keep being patient. I just want it to be really good. Let me know what you think.


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